Werewolves Aren't All Bad
by weaselygurl
Summary: The story of the Marauders begins here! The first year of Remus, James, Sirius, and Peter. Pease R&R!
1. Default Chapter

A/N OK this is my second fic. I didn't get a lot of reviews on my last one, so hopefully I'll get more on this one. Hope you like it!!!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of JK Rowling's awesome inventions.  
  
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Lucia Lupin rushed into the room, looking around wildly. "Where's Remus?" she screamed at her brother, Richard.  
  
"Daniel took him for a walk," Richard replied. "What's wrong?"  
  
Lucia didn't answer him, but she ran outside again and started yelling out the names of her younger brother and son. "Remus! Daniel! Werewolf is coming! Remus!"  
  
Her breath caught as she saw a dark shape in front of her. Remus and Daniel were both lying on the ground, bleeding badly. Footsteps came up behind her, and Richard looked down at the two boys. Immediately, he conjured up two stretchers and took the boys back to the house. Using Floo Powder, they quickly got to St. Mungo's and gave Remus and Daniel to the Emergency Healers. Then, Lucia Apparated to the Ministry of Magic, where her husband was working.  
  
Remus and Daniel were in St. Mungo's for six weeks. They had their own room, since it was too dangerous for them to be around other people. Later, all that Remus could remember of the actual bite and the weeks in the hospital was the huge amount of pain he was in. The Healers were amazed that this six-year-old boy had lived through the bite. People who got bitten before they were ten usually died.  
  
Before they were released, an extra room had to be added on to the house and reinforced with several spells. This would be the room that Remus would later call "The Torture Room" to himself, because it was where he would transform for the next five years, until a letter came from Albus Dumbledore.  
  
"They're building a passageway to a hut where you can transform safely," Remus' father, Christopher, told him. "You'll get to learn magic and be with other people, and then once a month you can transform without anybody knowing."  
  
"When are we going to get my books?" Remus asked, reading his letter again for the seventh time. He could hardly believe it. After all those years of worrying about if he would get to learn magic, he had been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  
  
"We'll go to Diagon Alley next week, and then you can go to Platform 9 ¾ from there," Lucia said, smiling at Remus. She had been worried about his schooling too, and she was relieved that Dumbledore had been kind enough to give him a chance.  
  
Remus could hardly wait to go to Diagon Alley. The week dragged on slowly, and it seemed like forever before he could go. When he finally did, he was amazed at the variety of shops that were set up.  
  
"So can I go get a wand first?" he asked. A wand was what he had been looking forward to the most.  
  
"Sure," Christopher replied. "Ollivander's is right down there. Go ahead and go down there, and I'll catch up in a few minutes."  
  
As he opened the door to Ollivander's, Remus was suddenly nervous. He had never been allowed to go anywhere by himself before, since the people in his neighborhood knew what had happened to him and looked down on him for it. Slowly, he walked up to the desk and rang the bell. An old man with silvery eyes looked out from behind the shelves.  
  
"Hello, young man," the old wizard greeted him, searching through the shelves. "What is your name?"  
  
"Remus Lupin," Remus answered, watching the old man who he guessed was Mr. Ollivander.  
  
"Which hand is your wand hand?" Ollivander turned to look at Remus again.  
  
"Um, I'm left-handed," replied Remus. Mr. Ollivander pulled out a wand and handed it to Remus. The boy waved it a little, and Mr. Ollivander snatched it back.  
  
"No, no, try this one."  
  
Remus waved the new one, and Mr. Ollivander took it back again. This was repeated so many times that Remus began to wonder if Mr. Ollivander was just seeing how long he would keep trying. Just as the thought entered his head, a new wand was pushed into his hands. A sudden warmth entered his fingers, and Remus sent red and gold sparks into the air.  
  
"Willow, unicorn hair, twelve inches," Mr. Ollivander told him. "That will be seven Galleons, Mr. Lupin." Remus heard the door open behind him and his father walked in.  
  
"I'll be paying for it," Christopher said, searching through his bag. "It was how much? Seven Galleons? Here you are, Mr. Ollivander."  
  
They left the shop, and Christopher handed Remus a bag of money.  
  
"Go buy your books, and then meet your mother and me in front of Gringotts. It's right over there," Christopher pointed out the biggest building there. "I'll see you later, then."  
  
Looking at his list, Remus decided to go get his cauldron first, then he could use it to carry his other supplies. He looked longingly at a solid gold cauldron before paying for a pewter one. When he went in to buy his books at Flourish and Botts, he accidentally ran into a tall boy, with long black hair.  
  
"Sorry," Remus said. The tall boy reached down to help him up.  
  
"First year?" he asked, and Remus nodded. "I am too. I guess I'll be seeing you at school then." Without saying anything else, the boy ran down the street to catch up to another boy. Remus looked back at him. For the first time that he could remember, Remus hadn't been shoved aside without a second thought by someone he didn't know. Smiling, he walked into Flourish and Botts.  
  
The next day, Remus went to Platform 9 ¾. He loaded his luggage into the racks and sat in an empty compartment. People passed through, but all they would say to him was "Have you seen this person? They look like this." A few minutes before the train was scheduled to leave, the tall boy came in to the compartment, followed by a shorter boy with dark hair and hazel eyes.  
  
"Hey, I've seen you before," the tall boy said. "My name's Sirius Black."  
  
"I'm James Potter," his friend added.  
  
"Remus Lupin."  
  
The two boys pushed their luggage into the rack above them and sat across from Remus.  
  
"So, do you play Quidditch at all?" James asked him.  
  
"Not really, but I watch it a lot," Remus replied.  
  
"Who's your favorite team?" asked Sirius.  
  
"Falmouth Falcons," said Remus. James cheered and Sirius groaned.  
  
"Sirius likes the Cannons for some unknown reason," James explained. "I can't talk any sense into him, even after they lose every game they play."  
  
"They've never lost every game they played!" Sirius exclaimed. "They even beat your precious Falcons a couple times."  
  
"Yeah, a couple times," James repeated. "The Falcons are the best team in the league, right Remus?"  
  
"Course they are!" Remus agreed wholeheartedly. "There's no way that anyone else is going to get the World Cup!"  
  
As the talk turned to other topics, Remus was surprised by how much he was included. After a while, though, he began to get used to it, and he realized that he had found new friends.  
  
"Has anyone seen my turtle?"  
  
A small, chubby boy stood at the doorway to their compartment.  
  
"We haven't seen anything," Sirius told him. The boy sighed.  
  
"Okay, I guess he'll turn up later, then. If you find him, then can you hold him until you find me?"  
  
After they assured him that they would, he disappeared into the next compartment.  
  
"A turtle?" Sirius snorted. "Who would bring a turtle as a pet?"  
  
"Hey, they're supposed to have extreme magical powers," James said with a straight face.  
  
"Like what?" Sirius asked doubtfully.  
  
"Like being able to bore you out of your mind," James replied, and they burst out laughing. Remus felt slightly uncomfortable. He knew what it was like to be on the bad end of teasing. But, he reasoned to himself, they were joking about the turtle, not the boy. Just then, a woman came in with a trolley full of sweets.  
  
"Oh, good, food's here!" James exclaimed. He and Sirius bought half of the candy off of the trolley.  
  
"What about you, Remus? You want anything?" Sirius turned back to Remus, who fingered the small amount of money in his pocket.  
  
"No, I'm okay," he replied. Sirius gave him an odd look, then picked up another handful of sweets.  
  
"I'll get these too," he told the lady. When they had paid for the sweets, Sirius tossed Remus a couple of handfuls.  
  
"Early Christmas present," he said, ripping open the packaging on a Chocolate Frog. Grinning, Remus bit into a Pumpkin Pasty.  
  
For the next couple of hours, they ate their way through the candy and swapped Chocolate Frog cards. In the middle of a deal making between Remus and James, the turtle boy came through again, this time holding a small turtle tightly. He stopped and waved at them, then continued walking. James shrugged.  
  
"Whatever. I'll give you Morgana, but I'm not going to give up Ptolemy."  
  
Two hours later, the train slowed to a stop. The three boys quickly pulled on their robes and walked outside.  
  
"First years!" a man called. "First years, leave your luggage here and follow me!" He led them to a big, dark lake and several small boats. "Load in! Four to a boat!"  
  
James, Sirius, and Remus got in to one boat. The turtle boy followed them in. Sirius rolled his eyes, but the boats started forward before he could say anything. About halfway across the lake, something came up out of the water, and they leaned over eagerly to see what it was.  
  
"Nobody worry!" the man who had led them to the boats called. "It's just a giant squid, it won't hurt anyone!"  
  
At that statement, the turtle boy sat back with a squeak. James and Sirius leaned out even farther, trying to get a better look at the sea creature. The tentacle disappeared, and they moved back into the boat, disappointed.  
  
Another ten minutes passed before the boats scraped on the shore. The first years walked to the huge doors that led to the Great Hall. After a moment, they opened without a sound, and all of the first years lined up in the front of the room. An old, torn hat sat on a stool. A rip near the brim opened, and the hat began to sing.  
  
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A/N So how do you like it? The beginning is sad, but I wanted to tell how Remus got the bite. Sorting Hat Song coming up next time if I can get it together! Review, tell me how you like it! 


	2. The Sorting

A/N New chapter up! The first thing that you'll read in my story is a weak attempt at poetry. At the end I gave up and just pulled it from the book. Please don't stop reading my story just because the Sorting Hat Song sucks! Review plz!!!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Rowling's characters or any of her stuff.  
  
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True, it is, a stylish fad your bowler hats may be, But though I'm torn and aging, none are smarter than me. I've got all the knowledge that's needed for this duty, So put me on and I'll tell you the House in which you'll be. In Gryffindor, the brave will dwell with chivalry that shows. Good Hufflepuff, that's where the one who's just and patient goes. Ravenclaw gets all the smarts, with those of ready mind, And Slytherin, where cunning folk will meet those of their kind. So put me on! Don't be afraid! And don't get in a flap! You're in safe hands (though I have none) for I'm the Thinking Cap!  
  
Everyone in the Great Hall applauded as the Hat finished its song. Remus eyed the Hat nervously, wondering if it would shout "Werewolf!" as soon as it was placed on his head. A tall witch stood up and unrolled a piece of parchment.  
  
"Abbot, Sarah!" she called. A small girl walked up to the Hat, and the witch placed it on her head. After a moment, the rip opened again and the Hat yelled "HUFFLEPUFF!"  
  
"That's Professor McGonagall," Sirius told Remus as the next person was called up. "She's the Head of Gryffindor, and the Transfiguration teacher. Just got hired last year. Might be fun to mess with her mind." His name was called, and he winked at James and Remus as he walked confidently up to the stool where the Hat was.  
  
"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the Hat quickly. Nearly ten minutes passed before "Lupin, Remus!" was called. Still nervous, Remus walked to the front. Professor McGonagall smiled at him slightly before she dropped the hat over his eyes. A suspenseful moment passed before he noticed a small voice in his ear.  
  
"A werewolf, eh?" the Hat whispered. "That would make you very brave, I think. You're exceptionally smart, so maybe you should go to Ravenclaw. Of course, it would make much more sense to place you in GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
Remus heard the last word shouted out for everyone to hear, and he walked to the table where Sirius sat, grinning broadly. Sirius cheered and clapped him on the back.  
  
"Well done, mate!" he exclaimed. The next few minutes were spent plowing through the M's, N's, and O's. The first P was none other than the turtle boy.  
  
"Pettigrew, Peter!"  
  
The boy moved forward, still clutching his pet. The Hat was dropped over his eyes, and there was a long silence. Finally, the Hat straightened. "GRYFFINDOR!" Sirius dutifully clapped, but Remus could hear him groaning over the applause. A few more names were called, and finally, "Potter, James!" James walked to the front with the same confidence that Sirius had shown. The Hat had barely covered his eyes before it called out "GRYFFINDOR!" Sirius and Remus cheered loudly and greeted James enthusiastically.  
  
After the last of the names had been called, McGonagall rolled up the parchment and sat down. An old wizard that Remus recognized as Albus Dumbledore stood.  
  
"Dinner is served," was all he said, bowing low. Food appeared on the golden platters set before them, and hands tore into the wide variety. It was a long time before the feast was over and Dumbledore stood again.  
  
"Welcome, first years," he began, "to Hogwarts, and welcome back to everyone else. I have first been asked by our caretaker, Apollyon Pringle, to remind all of you to frequently check the list of unallowed items, updated often. A new tree is being planted on the grounds, a species called Whomping Willow. I would advise you to stay as far away from it as you can, if you do not wish to risk personal injury." Remus felt slightly sick when Dumbledore said that. He knew exactly why the tree was being planted. The rest of Dumbledore's announcements were a blur, and Remus didn't know that he had dismissed them until James tugged on his sleeve.  
  
"Come on, Remus, we won't be able to find Gryffindor Tower unless we go now," James told him. Blinking a few times to clear his head, Remus stood and followed his friends. They walked down corridors and up stairs, listening to the Prefect warn them about the moving staircases and trick steps. Remus didn't pay any attention until his foot sank into one of the trick steps. He went down with a surprised yell. Perfect timing. The Slytherins passed behind them just then, and he could hear them laughing. James and Sirius pulled Remus out and they hurried on to catch up with the rest. Soon they came to a painting of a lady in a pink dress.  
  
"Wattlebird," the prefect said clearly. The portrait swung open, and they stepped inside to see several couches and armchairs, and a roaring fire.  
  
"This is the Gryffindor Common Room," the prefect explained. "You'll do most of your homework and studying here. Boys' dormitories are up the stairs and to the left, girls the same on your right. Now get to bed, tomorrow will come a lot faster than you'll be wanting it to."  
  
Sleepily, Remus followed his two friends up the stairs. As he got into bed, he heard Sirius start talking. He pulled a pillow over his head and tried to ignore him. Finally, James threw a pillow at Sirius, and Sirius stopped talking.  
  
"Stop," Remus mumbled, "stop hitting me, I'm asleep, I mean I'm awake, leave me alone." He heard some muffled laughter and he cracked open one eye to see James and Sirius. They were both holding pillows, which, Remus assumed, was what they had been hitting him with. He waved them off again and closed his eyes.  
  
"Come on, it's time for breakfast," Sirius said, pulling the covers back. Remus groaned and sat up. He had never been much of a morning person. He stood and got dressed, hoping that his socks matched. There was no way that he was going to open his eyes to look.  
  
During breakfast, Remus woke up a little bit more. He glanced at the schedule he had been handed and returned to his bacon and eggs.  
  
"Potions, then Transfiguration," James read aloud, examining his schedule.  
  
"Excellent," Sirius grinned, "new teachers are always fun."  
  
Halfway through Potions, Remus could tell that it wasn't going to be his best subject. The lesson was spent taking complicated notes, and Professor Malevolent announced that they would be brewing their first potion next week. If the notes weren't taken accurately, it would be difficult to brew the potion correctly. Remus breathed a sigh of relief when the bell rang for the class to end.  
  
"That wasn't too bad," Sirius yawned, stretching as they walked out of the dungeons.  
  
"The professor could use a few lessons on how to chill out, though," James replied.  
  
In Transfiguration, Remus, James, and Sirius sat near the front. Professor McGonagall looked stern, and Remus wondered if Sirius was really going to try to smart off to her. That alone showed how little he knew about Sirius.  
  
"Though your first year is one of your easiest years, it is also one of your most important years," McGonagall stated. "Your first year will show us what kind of student you are, and how willing you are to learn. Therefore, I expect each of you to give all of your attention to your studies. If you choose to disrupt my class, you will find yourself serving detention."  
  
"Sounds lethal," Sirius whispered, just loud enough for the professor to hear. She walked to his desk and looked down at him.  
  
"What is your name?" she asked.  
  
"Sirius Black," he replied with a carefree air.  
  
"Well, Mr. Black, you have been chosen as the first example for how troublemakers will be treated in my class."  
  
Sirius put on an injured look. "But Professor, I was just commenting on how frightening your punishment system sounds."  
  
"And now you will know firsthand how frightening my punishment system is," McGonagall replied. "How does a week of detention sound to you?"  
  
"Not even a warning? It's not like I've done anything really bad," Sirius protested.  
  
"If you continue to disrupt my class, it will be a month of detention," threatened McGonagall. Sirius opened his mouth to argue again, then snapped it shut again. "Very good. Now, if Mr. Black will be so kind, we will continue with the lesson."  
  
The rest of the period dragged on while McGonagall lectured and the class took notes. When they were finally let out for break, Sirius was kept behind to get the details on his detention. He came out of the classroom looking extremely angry.  
  
"D'you know what that old hag is making me do?" he shouted once they were out on the grounds. "She's making me help that Pringle wart clean all of the bathrooms every night for a week! Just for talking in class!"  
  
"Tough luck, mate," James sympathized. "At least we can go look up some cleaning spells."  
  
"I can't use magic!" Sirius exclaimed.  
  
"Man, she is an old hag," James said. Remus didn't say anything, but he couldn't help giving Sirius an it's-your-fault-you're-in-trouble look, which Sirius ignored. The bell rang again, and they headed off to History of Magic, their last class before lunchtime.  
  
Remus heard a snore next to him and rolled his eyes. James had his head on the desk and had drifted off to sleep about ten minutes after class had started. Sirius lasted five minutes longer, and then fell asleep with his head on the back of the seat. Professor Binns took no notice of any distractions, but a redheaded girl with green eyes turned around to glare at the two boys. Remus shrugged helplessly when she looked at him.  
  
"Wake up," he muttered thirty minutes later, shaking James.  
  
"Is it over yet?" James mumbled, rubbing his eyes and yawning.  
  
"That had to be the most boring thing I've ever lived through," Sirius remarked as they walked into the Great Hall. Remus looked at him and started to reply, but stopped. A sudden urge to bite his friend had suddenly swept over him. Full moon tomorrow night, he remembered. The biting impulses always came right before a full moon.  
  
"Remus? You alright?"  
  
James's voice interrupted Remus's thoughts, and Remus suddenly realized that he had stopped walking.  
  
"Yeah, I'm okay," Remus replied, stepping forward again. He wondered how he would get to the passageway. He didn't know how to get past the Whomping Willow. Turning around, he said, "I forgot something, I'll be back in a few minutes."  
  
Opening the door to the Hospital Wing, Remus looked around the room for Madam Pomfrey. She was sitting at her desk, filing some papers. Remus walked quietly up to her.  
  
"Excuse me," he said. Madam Pomfrey looked up, rather startled.  
  
"Oh, hello, dear," she smiled. "I was just about to send someone to look for you."  
  
"Um, I was just, um, wondering about how to, um, get past the Whomping Willow tomorrow," He stammered, glad that no one else was in the room.  
  
"Just meet me here tomorrow at five," she told him. Remus nodded and sped out the door, hoping to be able to get some food before his next class.  
  
"Where were you?" Sirius asked when Remus sat next to him.  
  
"Oh, I, uh, my mum has been sick, and I might be going to see her tomorrow," Remus lied, grateful that he had been able to think of an excuse so quickly. Satisfied with the explanation, Sirius and James returned to their food. Remus tried to eat, but he was so nervous that the food tasted like sawdust. After five years, he was still afraid of the transformations. As long as Sirius and James didn't find out, he felt that it would be okay.  
  
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A/N Well, is it good? Review and tell me what you think! Happy New Year! 


	3. The Shrieking Shack

A/N If I have any fans out there, sorry that I haven't written forever! I got caught up in school and junk, and I've been working on an original book. Anyway, here's the third chapter!!! (finally)  
  
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After Charms class, Remus turned to go to the Hospital Wing instead of the Great Hall. James and Sirius waved good-bye, still thinking that Remus was going to see his mother.  
  
"Tell her hello from me!" James called as Remus disappeared around the corner. Remus tried to swallow, but his throat was dry. He knew that, even if he had tried, it would have been impossible to eat dinner. Throughout the day, he had had several, unexpected impulses to bite someone. It was increasingly hard to resist, especially since he was around people all day. It had taken a lot out of him, and he was very pale when he reached the Hospital Wing.  
  
"You're early, dear," Madam Pomfrey said, hurrying over to him. "Did you get any dinner?" He shook his head, and Madam Pomfrey immediately conjured a dish of some kind of food. Remus didn't want to look at it in case it made him lose his lunch. "Now, I want you to eat all of this before we leave. Eat!"  
  
Somehow, Remus choked down the food and kept it down. He was then handed a large piece of chocolate to eat on the way to the grounds. He nibbled at it while he followed Madam Pomfrey. She showed him a secret passageway from the fourth floor that would lead to near where the Whomping Willow had been planted. When they reached the tree, Madam Pomfrey handed him a long branch.  
  
"See that big knot right there?" She pointed it out. "Poke it, and the tree won't attack you. Now," she pulled out a large key, "when you get into the hut on the other end of the passageway, lock the door with this. It will activate the reinforcing spells. In the morning, unlock the door and bring it out. I'll meet you right here at dawn."  
  
She waited until Remus had entered the tunnel before she left. When Remus entered the hut, he saw that furniture had been provided for him to bite. That would help a little. He wouldn't bite himself as much. A spasm of pain passed through his body, and he decided to lock the door quickly. He turned the key in the lock, then pulled it out and looked for somewhere to hide it. It wouldn't be good if he, in his transformed state, somehow figured out how to get the key in the lock. Climbing up on the desk, Remus stuffed it in a crack in the wall just big enough to hold it. Another wave of pain knocked him off the desk, and the transformation began.  
  
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In the morning, Remus woke on the floor. His leg was bleeding. Vaguely, he remembered biting it during the night. Looking around, he noticed that the once-neat room was in shambles. One of the legs on the desk had been completely torn off. Remus shuddered. He hated the fact that he became a destructive monster once a month. Limping to a chair, Remus stood on top of it to get the key out of the crack. He unlocked the door and followed the passageway to the grounds. Madam Pomfrey was waiting for him, holding a big chunk of chocolate.  
  
"Eat this," she ordered as soon as he emerged from the tunnel. She looked him over, and shook her head when she saw the cut on his leg.  
  
"It's not as bad as it looks," Remus assured her. Madam Pomfrey shook her head again and led him to the Hospital Wing. He slept there until Madam Pomfrey woke him so he could get to breakfast.  
  
In the Great Hall, James and Sirius were already poring over a newspaper and talking eagerly. They only looked up once Remus sat down.  
  
"Hey, Remus," James greeted him. "How's your mum doing?" It took Remus a few seconds to figure out what James was talking about.  
  
"She's f-f-fine," Remus answered, breaking up into a yawn. He was exhausted.  
  
"So, have you seen the Daily Prophet yet?" Sirius asked. Remus shook his head, not really caring what was in the newspaper. All he cared about was trying to stay awake. "They say something odd happened up in Hogsmeade. You know the new hut that some rich old guy built up there?"  
  
Remus nearly choked on his toast. Instantly, he was on his guard. "Yeah, I heard about it."  
  
Sirius was getting excited again. "Well, last night, the people in Hogsmeade swore they heard a big racket up there. Scared them half to death. They figure that the hut is haunted. The noise went on all night, horrible screams and shrieks. One old bloke even heard someone up there screaming about a murder that happened seventy years ago." Remus almost smiled. He might have screamed and shrieked, but he knew that it wasn't possible for him to say anything in any human language.  
  
"We're going to go check it out," James told him. "Want to come?"  
  
"Uh, when?" Remus asked, his mind racing for an excuse to keep James and Sirius away from the hut. If they found out what he was..  
  
"Tonight," Sirius said.  
  
"How're we going to get there?" Remus wondered, slightly panicking now.  
  
"Some fifth year guy, Rob Weasely or something, told us how to get out. Go up to that statue of the humpbacked witch and say 'Dissendium,'" James responded. "Come on, are you chickening out?"  
  
"'Course not!" Remus's insides were twisting madly now. "But d'you think that whatever was there last night will still be there?"  
  
"It's worth a look," Sirius replied, "so are you in?"  
  
"Uh, okay," said Remus, groaning inside. What else could he say? Besides, they won't know that it was me that tore up the cabin, he thought. He relaxed a little bit, even beginning to look forward to a night of adventure. "So how are we going to get there without getting caught?"  
  
"James has an Invisibility Cloak," Sirius said with a half-jealous, half-admiring look at his friend. "It's big enough for all three of us to fit under it."  
  
"Shut up, Pettigrew is coming," James hissed warningly. The chubby boy was walking down the hall towards them, his face pale.  
  
"Did you hear about the ghosts in Hogsmeade?" Peter whispered, looking terrified.  
  
"Yeah, they think that they might be out for blood tonight," Sirius told him.  
  
"Better watch out, no one knows who they're after," James continued. The other boy's face turned whiter than Remus thought possible. Sirius softened a little.  
  
"We're just joking," he said, a little disgusted at Peter's gullibility.  
  
"Yeah, there might not even be any ghosts up there," James added. "Don't worry about it."  
  
Peter was still pale, but he nodded quickly and ran off. Shaking his head, James turned back to his friends.  
  
"Honestly, if he believed all that, I'd hate to see what else he'd fall for," he told them.  
  
"Seriously," Sirius agreed, then returned to the subject of their planned adventure. "So what time are we going to leave?"  
  
"I'd say about midnight would be the best time," James answered. "It'll take about a half-hour to get to the witch, and then the shack. That leaves us plenty of time to explore."  
  
* * *  
  
By midnight, Remus was nervous all over again. He was sweating beneath James's Invisibility Cloak, and he was afraid that he would start shaking. It wasn't exactly that he was afraid that Sirius and James would find out about him; it was more that he didn't want to return to where he had transformed just last night. Besides that, he was dead tired from getting no sleep for two nights in a row.  
  
"It's just up here," James whispered excitedly. They began walking a little bit quicker, careful to make no noise. Just as they reached the statue, Professor McGonagall walked out of a classroom, accompanied by someone with a long beard. It was Dumbledore! Remus' heart jumped into his throat. If Dumbledore caught them – after all he had done for Remus –  
  
Sirius shoved Remus into a small broom closet. They waited until there were no more footsteps outside, then they bolted for the witch.  
  
"Dissendium!" Sirius hissed, and the witches hump slid back. Silently, the three boys jumped into the passageway, and the hump closed.  
  
"Lumos," James breathed, and the tip of his wand lit. They followed the passageway until it curved up and ended in a trapdoor. Pushing up, they found themselves in a storeroom.  
  
"Come on, let's go," Sirius whispered. They went up some stairs and found themselves in a room full of candy. They passed it all by, thinking only of the shack. Remus was more nervous than ever. His stomach was twisting, and for a moment, he was afraid he was going to throw up.  
  
It was only a short walk to the shack. The boys walked all around it, looking for a possible entrance. When they found no holes, Remus began hoping that they would go back to Hogwarts. James and Sirius didn't stop searching, though. Finally, Sirius walked up to the doorway.  
  
"Help me push," he ordered, turning to shove against the doorway. Remus, who knew about the security spells, started to move to pull Sirius back.  
  
"That might not be a good –"Remus was interrupted when Sirius was lifted high into the air and thrown backwards. "Idea," finished Remus, already hurrying over to where Sirius was laying.  
  
"Wake up, mate," James muttered, shaking Sirius a little. After a moment, Sirius stirred and sat up.  
  
"What a rush!" he grinned, rubbing his bruised arm. "That was crazy!"  
  
"I don't think we can get in that way," James observed. "Lucky you didn't land on your head."  
  
"Are we going back?" Remus asked, looking to see if Sirius was injured.  
  
"You seem nervous," James said, glancing at the other boy. "Why are you so worried?"  
  
"I just don't want to get caught," replied Remus as he tried to calm down.  
  
"Well, it doesn't look like we'll be able to do much more tonight, so we might as well leave," Sirius stated, pushing himself up. "We'd better get back to Hogwarts."  
  
* * *  
  
A/N Well, do you like it? I'm going to try to keep writing this time. I like reviews! Please send lots!  
  
TheDudeLordOfFantasy – I'm glad you like it! Sorry that I haven't written for a long time – I didn't even see your review until yesterday! Anyway, please keep reviewing! 


	4. Severus Snape

A/N Next Chappie! Hope you like it!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of JK Rowling's stuff.  
  
* * *  
  
By the next day, Remus could barely keep his eyes open. James and Sirius were still talking about last night in low voices, both of them wide awake.  
  
"Bit of a disappointment," Remus heard Sirius say during History of Magic. "I mean, there wasn't even a sound from inside."  
  
"We'll find another time to go," James replied. "It'll probably happen again."  
  
Remus didn't hear anything else as his head slumped forward. He slept until class ended and James poked him.  
  
"You aren't tired, are you?" Sirius joked. Rubbing his eyes and yawning, Remus began to walk to Charms. His two friends continued to whisper about when they should go again. About ten steps down the hallway, a Slytherin boy with his nose in a book ran straight into James.  
  
"Hey, watch it, kid!" James yelled, glaring at the other boy. The Slytherin reached into his robes.  
  
"Don't even think about it," Sirius snarled, his wand already pointed at the kid. He glanced distastefully at the boy's greasy hair. "Why don't you just get on and read your little book somewhere else?"  
  
Scowling, the Slytherin boy took his hand slowly out of his robes and turned around. As he walked away, James shouted, "And don't forget to wash your hair!"  
  
Remus watched the scene silently. He felt guilty about not stepping in. After years of experience, he knew exactly how it felt to be ganged up on like that. When the boy walked away without any harm, Remus felt a little better. At least nothing seriously bad had happened.  
  
Charms passed quickly. It was a fairly easy class, and the three boys had no trouble with the spellwork. However, Peter Pettigrew couldn't seem to do anything right. Remus was usually assigned to partner Peter and show him exactly how to do whatever they were learning. Today, they were practicing the same light charm that James had used in the secret passageway. Remus, James, and Sirius did it on their first try. Now, nearing the end of class, Remus was still trying to help Peter.  
  
"No, hold your wand still when you say it," Remus told Peter with a touch of exasperation in his voice. Peter struggled to hold the wand steady, his face shiny with sweat. His hand was trembling with effort.  
  
"L-lumos!" he squeaked. Sparks flew out of the tip of his wand, lighting a girl's robe on fire. There was a loud shriek. Sighing, Remus sent a stream of water out of his wand, putting out the flames. The girl turned and threw a dirty look at both of them before running out of the room. Out of the corner of his eye, Remus saw Sirius roll his eyes. James said something, and they both laughed.  
  
"Okay, it's loom-os, not lum-os," Remus said patiently. "Just hold your wand up and keep it steady and pronounce the word clearly."  
  
With a look of intense concentration, Peter lifted up his wand. "Lumos!" he cried, and the tip of his wand glowed dimly. Peter nearly dropped it in excitement. "Did you see that? It lit up!"  
  
"Good," James grinned, coming up behind him. Peter flushed. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have to take away your tutor. Urgent business, you know."  
  
Remus followed his friends, glad to finally get away. He was grateful that he had finally been rescued from the endless boredom. The class ended, and the trio walked out.  
  
"Well, should we do our essays outside?" Sirius suggested, glancing at a window. "It'll get cold soon."  
  
James and Remus agreed, and they headed toward the Great Hall. Remus suddenly realized that it was Friday. Two days of freedom, then Potions.  
  
"What do you say, Transfiguration essay first?" James asked as they stood under a tree near the lake. Nodding, Remus pulled out his notes. He was startled by a yell from Sirius.  
  
"Duck!"  
  
All three of them crouched down, and a blast of red light whizzed over their heads. They sprang back up and looked around.  
  
"There!" Sirius yelled, pointing. The Slytherin with greasy hair was running back toward the castle. James and Sirius both took off after him while Remus stayed under the tree, unsure of what to do. Watching from where he stood, he saw James jump and tackle the boy. Sirius pulled out his wand, and James rolled out of the way. Sirius said something, and a green light hit the boy. All three boys were yelling, and finally, the Slytherin tried to stand up. His legs collapsed under him. After a moment, he got up again and struggled toward the castle, his legs wobbling. James and Sirius returned.  
  
"Stupid git," Sirius growled when he reached the tree.  
  
"Severus Snape," James said in a mocking voice. "As if we're supposed to know who he is. Nice Jelly-Legs, Sirius."  
  
"He's a Snape?" Remus asked, surprised.  
  
"That's what he said," Sirius replied, "why? Do you something about them?"  
  
"Only that they're a whole bunch of Dark wizards, rotten inside and out," Remus told them. "They lived a few miles away from me. They aren't a pleasant family."  
  
"Yeah, I could tell." James was thoroughly angry about the whole thing. It was bad enough to try and hit someone from behind, but then to run off? This Snape kid was asking for it, he decided, and he'd get it.  
  
"Listen, I have a plan," James grinned, motioning for them to lean in. "Remus, you've already learned a lot of magic right? Good. Ok, so Sirius, you get the first move. Tomorrow morning, you'll be waiting outside the dungeons . . ."  
  
As James explained the plan, Remus again felt bad. But, he reasoned, Snape had been asking for some punishment. This was just to make sure that he left them alone.  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Sirius was hiding behind a statue in front of the dungeons. Slytherins had started coming out a while ago, but Snape was still in there. Just when he was about to give up hope and leave, a head full of greasy black hair poked out, looking around suspiciously. Sirius waited until Snape was almost past him, then he whispered the Trip Jinx. Snape fell flat on his face, then popped up, looking around wildly. When he didn't see anyone, he continued, only to trip again after another few feet. Stifling a laugh, Sirius continued to trip Snape every few feet as he crossed the Great Hall. When the Slytherin finally broke into a run and bolted for the doors to the Dining Hall, Sirius made one last, grand trip, sending Snape crashing into the large doors. Satisfied, he joined the crowd of students heading to breakfast.  
  
Remus heard a loud crash and whirled around. Snape entered the Hall a moment later, rubbing his forehead. Pulling a scrap of parchment out of his pocket, Remus muttered a spell and threw the parchment, whispering "Severus Snape" after it. The parchment flew to where Snape was sitting at the Slytherin table and began to flutter around his face, occasionally poking itself into Snape's ears, nose, or mouth. Snape grabbed at it and repeatedly missed. Finally, he snatched it and read it. Even from where he was standing, Remus could tell that Snape was getting mad. The parchment had a note from James on it, telling Snape that his cowardice had been noticed, and he would have bad luck all day.  
  
James picked up a half of a grapefruit and turned to walk past the Slytherin table. Just as he got to where Snape was sitting, James "tripped," and the grapefruit smashed into the Slytherin boy, splattering all over his neck and back. Snape turned around sharply and shouted at James, who shrugged and said something back. Walking back to Gryffindor table, James caught Sirius' eye and nodded slightly. Sirius released a rat that he had been holding. The rat scurried under tables and through legs until it got to the Slytherins. Snape was standing up to go clean off his robes. The rat smelled the fruity juice and went after it. When the rat began to crawl up his back, Snape froze. Reaching its destination, the rat bit at the fruity-smelling clothes. Yelling, Snape tried the smack the rat off of his back, but the rodent was just out of reach. Several people around him stared. After a few minutes of slapping and shaking, the animal let go and disappeared in the crowd. Snape stormed out of the Dining Hall.  
  
James followed Snape to the bathroom. Each time the Slytherin turned around, James disappeared into a classroom or behind a statue. Finally, Snape disappeared into the restroom. Grabbing his wand, James whispered another spell and traced the door with his wand. Once this was done, he couldn't resist going in to see the results. Snape was cleaning the blood off of the back of his neck when James entered. Glaring, Snape threw the wet paper towel in a trash bin and turned to push the door open. It wouldn't budge. The boy pushed harder, but the door wouldn't open.  
  
"So it's you!" Snape wheezed, still pushing with all his might.  
  
"What are you talking about?" James asked, giving Snape a look that plainly said he thought Snape was crazy. "Why don't you open the door?"  
  
"You locked it, stupid!"  
  
"Is the door locked?" James asked a Ravenclaw boy. Snape stepped back from the door, and the Ravenclaw pushed it open easily. "See?"  
  
Snape just gave him a look of loathing, then tried to push the door open again. It didn't move. Shaking his head, James walked out of the bathroom, barely able to keep a straight face.  
  
"Ok, Remus, got the second note?" James asked his friend, who was waiting outside. Remus held up anther piece of parchment and tapped a statue with his wand. The statue opened, and he climbed inside, preparing to shoot the parchment out of the stone goblin's large ear. James hid behind another statue and unlocked the door. It burst open, and Snape tumbled out. With a burst of air from his wand, Remus hit the boy on the forehead with the parchment. Snape opened it angrily: Had enough yet? We can't follow you around all day – we have things to do. So we'll give up on the idea of cursing you every time you move. Now, you can have a pretty pink companion for the rest of the day.  
  
Snape stared at the note, then looked around for his "pretty pink companion." Sirius sent it to him. A bright pink fox leaped out of a classroom and bolted to where Snape was standing, nipping at the Slytherin's heels. Snape jumped up, swore, and ran for cover. The three friends emerged from their various hiding places, laughing at the sight of Snape being pursued by the pink animal.  
  
"Well, friends, our work here is done," Sirius grinned.  
  
"For the moment, anyway," James added. They walked down the hall in good spirits, making plans for the rest of the day.  
  
* * *  
  
A/N So how is it? I don't really like this chapter as much as my other ones, but I'll improve. Please send reviews! I like those!!!  
  
TheDudeLordOfFantasy – Thanks again for reviewing! You're great! Hope you keep reading and reviewing! 


	5. Glasses

Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own Harry Potter.  
  
* * *  
  
James, Sirius, and Remus sat at the same in Potions. Today, they would be doing what Professor Malevolent called "The Entrance Exam." He claimed that it would tell him which students had potential and which students were worthless. Each student would be making a Hair Color potion. Remus could tell that it was much harder to change his hair color with a potion than with a wand.  
  
"You will have the remaining time to brew your potion," the professor declared, eyeing them with contempt. "You may begin."  
  
Remus squinted at the blackboard, where the directions were written. He couldn't see them very well – the words were blurry. Looking to his right, he saw that James and Sirius were already moving to gather ingredients. Remus pulled out a chicken liver and began to chop it up.  
  
"Uh, Remus? What're you doing?" wondered Sirius, looking at the slimy object in his friend's hand.  
  
"Isn't the first ingredient sliced chicken liver?" Remus asked, glancing at the blackboard again.  
  
"It's iced baboon blubber," Sirius replied, also looking back at the blackboard. "Can you see ok?"  
  
"Obviously not," James teased, shaking his head. "Or is it that you just can't read?"  
  
"I guess I can't see right," Remus admitted, squinting toward the front of the room. "A little help?"  
  
James and Sirius muttered the ingredients and the steps to Remus as they did them. The boy followed the instructions as well as he could. It was the longest hour of his life. At the end of class, his potion wasn't the same dark purple that his friends' was, but it was close. He put a sample into a bottle and handed it to the Professor, wiping beads of sweat off his forehead. It was stifling hot in the room. When the class was finally dismissed, Remus was one of the first out.  
  
"So what are you going to do?" James asked, walking next to Remus. "You can't just have people read everything to you."  
  
"I'll have to talk to Madam Pomfrey, then," Remus mumbled. "Think that McGonagall will let me out to go see her?"  
  
"Yeah right," Sirius snorted, "that lady's harder than stone."  
  
Sirius was right. When Remus asked to go to the Hospital Wing to see about his eyes, McGonagall told him to copy off of someone else's notes and go during lunch. Remus spent twenty minutes repeatedly telling Sirius to move his arm so he could see the notes. Finally, he gave up and decided to copy the notes later. When Professor McGonagall saw that he wasn't writing anything, she began a lecture about having to try in order to achieve anything. Once the class was let out, Remus was trying hard to keep in his bad mood.  
  
"See you later," James called as Remus turned to go to the Hospital Wing. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Remus took a deep breath. He knew he had to pull himself together before full moon next week.  
  
"Hi!"  
  
Remus was startled when Peter walked up beside him. Forcing a smile, he replied, "Hi, Peter."  
  
"I just wanted to say thanks for helping me," Peter told him. "You know, it was great of you. I never had many friends and all, so – thanks."  
  
"Well," Remus said, slightly taken aback, "you've got another friend now."  
  
Peter beamed up at him. Just then, Snape walked past, throwing Remus a look of contempt. Again, Remus felt bad about what they had done. Had Snape really deserved all that?  
  
"Don't feel sorry for him." Peter's voice broke into Remus' thoughts. "He's a bully, that one. The whole family's rotten. If you didn't show him that you could stick up for yourself, he would've done the same to you."  
  
Still, Remus felt guilty. He resolved to put a stop to any other plans to hurt someone, unless they really deserved it, of course. The two boys reached the Hospital Wing, and Peter continued down the hall, waving goodbye to Remus.  
  
"What is it, dear?" Madam Pomfrey asked, hurrying over to him. "Is something wrong?"  
  
Remus felt a little embarrassed. "No, it's just that I couldn't see the blackboards very well during class. I thought that I should come and see if you could help."  
  
"Well, I suppose you might need glasses." Madam Pomfrey went to her desk and pulled out a pair of glasses bright purple lenses. She placed them over his eyes and nodded. Using her wand, she drew another pair of spectacles in the air, which solidified and hovered for a moment before she took them and placed them on Remus' face, removing the purple-lensed ones. He blinked at the sudden sharp focus.  
  
"Better?" the nurse asked. Nodding, Remus thanked her and walked back out of the Hospital Wing.  
  
* * *  
  
All too soon, it was time for another full moon. When James and Sirius began to walk to dinner, Remus tried to slip away unnoticed.  
  
"Where are you going?" Sirius asked when Remus started to walk away. Remus tried to think of another excuse, but his mind was blank.  
  
"Um, well, I have to go see my mother at least once a month," he lied, hoping that they would buy it. "They're hoping that it will help her get better faster."  
  
"Ok, so we'll see you tomorrow?" James was looking at Remus oddly, but he didn't press the subject.  
  
"Yeah," Remus replied, glad to get off. He hurried down the hall.  
  
* * *  
  
Once again, Remus found himself alone in the shack. He stuffed the key in the same crack in the wall and climbed down, sitting on the sagging bed. He knew that he needed to think of a new excuse, or his friends would find out. Waves of pain began to come. As he began to transform, Remus was still worrying about what he could say.  
  
In the morning, Remus was under the desk, which had several holes and bite marks in it. Wincing, the boy pulled splinters of wood out from between his teeth. His left hand was bleeding badly, and he didn't know why. Suddenly, he grasped at his face. The glasses were gone! There they were, shattered on the floor. Looking more closely at his hand, he saw a piece of glass in it. Groaning softly, he reached for the key and unlocked the door. Following the passageways, he came out in the back of Madam Pomfrey's office. Walking through the door to the main room, he saw James and Sirius, and he froze.  
  
"Remus?" James said, confused. "What were you doing back there?"  
  
"Oh, uh, I just got back, and Madam Pomfrey asked me to get some stuff from back there," he lied quickly.  
  
"For what?" Sirius said shrewdly.  
  
"My hand," Remus replied, showing them his injury. Then, turning to Madam Pomfrey, he said, "I couldn't find the bottle that you were talking about."  
  
Nodding as if she knew what he was talking about, Madam Pomfrey began to rummage through one of the cupboards. "I must have left it in her again – ah, here it is." She pulled out a big blue bottle and reached out for Remus' hand. He gave it to her a little hesitantly. She poured the dark blue liquid onto his hand, and it began to steam. When the steam cleared away, the hole in his hand was gone.  
  
"Good as new," she told him, corking the bottle again.  
  
"Thanks," he responded. He left with his two friends behind him.  
  
"There were more noises at the Shack last night," James informed him, trying to catch his eye. "We think that there might be some kind of pattern."  
  
"Do you want to help us figure it out?" Sirius wondered. Remus shook his head.  
  
"I still have another essay to do."  
  
Sirius waved that away. "The essay won't take long. Come on, don't you want to figure this out?"  
  
Remus was saved from answering when Peter ran up beside them. "Remus, Madam Pomfrey wants you back in the Hospital Wing. She says you forgot something."  
  
"Ok, we'll get started, and you can come help when you're done," James said, looking disappointed. Waving goodbye, Remus started back toward the Hospital Wing. Peter followed.  
  
"So what do you think about the shack down in Hogsmeade?" Peter asked eagerly.  
  
"I don't know." Remus shrugged uncomfortably. "It's probably just a bunch of witches and wizards trying to scare people."  
  
"Yeah . . . "Peter didn't look convinced. They reached the Hospital Wing, and Peter stopped. "Well, I'm going back to the common room."  
  
"Tell James and Sirius that I'll be there in a few minutes," Remus told him. "You can help them figure out the pattern thing or something." Peter nodded walked away.  
  
Madam Pomfrey looked worried when he came in. "Are you doing ok with those two boys?" she wondered. "They seemed to be a bit nosy."  
  
"They were just worried," Remus assured her. "Did you need something?"  
  
"Well, you came in without your glasses, so I thought that you might need a new pair." She handed him the glasses, and Remus put them on. "Also, I was wondering how you got that bad cut."  
  
"I think I stepped on my other glasses during the night." Remus smiled sheepishly. "I forgot to take them off."  
  
"Okay then." Madam Pomfrey smiled at him. "If you need any help with other kids, just come here."  
  
Remus nodded, a little annoyed at being treated like a child. He turned around and left the Hospital Wing. He decided to "help" his friends, so that if they got too close to the truth, he could lead them off track. Still a little bit worried, he walked toward Gryffindor.  
  
* * *  
  
A/N Well, it's a little slow. Next chapter will be much better, I promise. R&R please!  
  
TheDudeLordOfFantasy – Yeah, I didn't really like the last chapter. Anyway, James and Sirius will eventually find out. It'll be a little tricky to write that part, but I'll try to make it good. Anyway, please keep reviewing!!! 


	6. A Near Miss

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter characters.  
  
Quote of the Day: "Email is like a prison, a prison with no walls, and no toilet." Does anyone know where that's from? It's off of my favorite website. If you know, review and tell me!!!  
  
* * *  
  
The weeks flew by for Remus. Every day seemed exactly the same – classes, lunch, classes, work, dinner, work, bed. Peter was hanging around with them more and more. James and Sirius never said anything about it, and Remus was grateful for that. The week before Christmas vacation began, Remus' third transformation was due.  
  
"So how do you get to wherever your mum is?" Sirius asked the day before the full moon. "Does the train come?"  
  
"Uh, no, actually," Remus replied, staring intently at the quill in his hands. "I go outside of school bounds and ride the Knight Bus."  
  
His friends nodded, returning to their books. Remus had a twisting feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew that James and Sirius were getting suspicious about him being gone every time there were noises from the shack. What if they found out? They were sure to desert him if they knew what he was. No one wanted to be anywhere near a werewolf. It's so unfair! he thought angrily. Just because a person is attacked, he's hated by the world for the rest of his life. The thought made him so frustrated that he couldn't concentrate. Checking his watch, he saw that it was late enough that he could pretend to be tired.  
  
"I'm going to bed," he told the other three boys around him. Standing and stretching, he started up the staircase. He realized that he actually was exhausted from staying up studying all night last night. If he didn't get enough sleep, it would be a rough night the next night.  
  
Remus slept through breakfast the next day. When he woke up after a full night's sleep, he felt much better. As he walked to classes with his friends, he felt almost as if he was ready for the transformation.  
  
It snowed through the morning, and by the time classes were over, there was a thick layer of snow on the ground.  
  
"Forget these essays, let's go out and have some fun!" James led the way out of the castle. All afternoon, they snowballed each other and worked on a snow fort, which was reinforced by simple spells. When it began to get dark, they began a modified game of hide-and-seek. The game was interrupted when Madam Pomfrey came running out.  
  
"Remus! What are you doing?!" she shouted. Stopping cold, Remus suddenly remembered that it was full moon. He had completely forgotten.  
  
"I have to go!" he yelled over his shoulder to his friends as he bolted toward the castle, Madam Pomfrey on his heels. While they ran, Remus could hear her scolding him between gasps of breath. He felt awful. If she hadn't found him in time, he could have transformed out on the grounds. He would have bitten all of his friends, and everyone else he could get to, too. Just the thought made him feel sick. Tears began to burn his eyes as he sped through the passageways. He barely got inside the shack when the first shock of pain came crashing down on him. Locking the door, he threw the key across the room. It was just clear of his hand when he started to transform.  
  
* * *  
  
In the morning, Remus saw too weak to move. He lay on the floor, trying to forget all that had happened. For nearly a half-hour, he didn't move a muscle. Finally, he dragged himself up and began to look for the key. He had been so disoriented when he had thrown it that he didn't know where to look. It took him another forty-five minutes to find the tiny gold key. Not even caring what he had injured, the boy crawled to Madam Pomfrey's office. She took one look at him and began to insist that he stayed here instead of go to classes. He protested.  
  
"If I'm not in class, it will make people suspicious," he argued.  
  
"If you go to class, people will wonder what happened to you," Madam Pomfrey responded with a worried look.  
  
"So I'll tell them I got mugged," Remus replied. "Look, I need to go to class! I can't just stay here and draw any attention to myself."  
  
Madam Pomfrey still looked worried, but she finally consented. Before she let him go, she gave him a cup of steaming silver liquid. "Drink it all, or I'll keep you in here a week," she threatened. Remus took a sip and found that it didn't taste too bad. He drank the rest quickly and handed the cup back to Madam Pomfrey. Hurrying out of the Hospital Wing, he almost ran into Peter.  
  
"Peter? Why aren't you at breakfast?" Remus wondered.  
  
"You're late, so we all split up to look for you," the other boy replied. "You came here last time, so I thought you might be here again."  
  
"Good thinking," said a voice from behind them. James and Sirius walked up next to them.  
  
"What happened to you?" Sirius asked, looking at Remus gravely. "You look terrible."  
  
"I got mugged when I was waiting for the Knight Bus," Remus told him. Sirius and James nodded, but Remus thought he saw a doubtful look in their eyes. He shook it off, deciding that he was getting paranoid.  
  
"Well, Herbology is starting," James said. "Should we go?"  
  
The four boys walked quickly to the greenhouses, getting there just as Professor Sprout began to speak. While they planted Poisonous Klaws, Remus was preoccupied, trying to think of new excuses for next month. His hand moved automatically, dropping seeds and covering them with soil.  
  
"Remus!"  
  
Remus looked up, surprised. His friends were staring at him. He felt his face turn red.  
  
"She wants us to clean up," Sirius told him. "Are you feeling okay?"  
  
"I'm fine," Remus mumbled, picking up his planting tray and moving it to the back table. "I'm just tired."  
  
The rest of the day was a blur. Remus tried to pay attention in class, but his mind kept wandering. He was so tired. All he wanted was to sleep for a few hours. When dinner was finally over, he followed his three friends to the Gryffindor boys' dormitory. For the first time, he noticed that they weren't talking much. When they entered the room, Remus sank into a chair and watched them, now tense and worried. His eyes followed Sirius as he closed the door and stood next to James, in front of Remus.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Remus wondered, beginning to get scared.  
  
"You tell us, you're the one that looks like you're back from the dead," Sirius replied. Peter looked afraid.  
  
"Look, what's wrong?" asked Remus. He had a cold feeling in his stomach, and his heart started to pound. If they had somehow found out-  
  
There was a long silence. More and more, Remus felt as if a cold hand was squeezing his heart. He wished that someone would just hurry up and say something. Finally, James spoke. "Let me tell you what we know."  
  
* * *  
  
A/N Ok sorry for the delay!!! Had some trouble getting onto the computer. Anyway, Next chapter should be up soon! Plz review!!!  
  
TheDudeLordOfFantasy – Well, it's coming! Just wait for the next chapter! Please keep reviewing!!! 


	7. The Discovery

A/N Yay I got 3 new reviewers this time! No one guessed my quote though :'(. It's from homestarrunner.com. A great website. You should check it out. Anyway, want a new quote? K, here's the Quote of the Day: "Guys, Chad fell down." If you don't think it's funny, I guess you just have to see the movie to get it. ANYWAY, onto the story!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter characters.  
  
* * *  
  
Remus wanted to cry or faint or disappear, or all three at once. He could tell from their expressions that they knew. Now, he would never have the chance to learn magic. He would be leaving Hogwarts by nightfall. Vaguely, he became aware that Sirius was talking.  
  
"We know that you're the one making the sounds in the Shrieking Shack," he was saying, "and we also know that you're a werewolf. What we don't know is – hello? Are you paying attention?"  
  
Remus nodded numbly. He knew that he must look like he was asleep. His brain was completely dazed.  
  
"Ok, what I was saying," Sirius continued, "is that we don't know why you didn't tell us."  
  
Remus stared at him. Was he serious? They didn't know why he had kept it a secret? He wanted to yell at them, shake them, make them see how his life was as a werewolf, but he had no energy to fight back.  
  
"Remus, we're friends, right?" James asked, standing directly in front of Remus. "Friends don't lie. Is it that you don't trust us?"  
  
One thing struck the center of Remus' brain. We're friends. James hadn't said we were friends. He had said we're friends. Confusion overwhelmed the boy.  
  
"You mean – you mean we're still friends?" Remus croaked, his throat parched.  
  
"Of course!" Sirius waved that away as if being a werewolf was as common as being human.  
  
"We don't go for all that junk about werewolves being evil," James told him. "Is that why you didn't want anyone to know?"  
  
Remus nodded, still in shock. His brain moved slowly, sorting out what was happening. If they're still my friends, they won't tell anyone. If they don't tell anyone, I won't have to leave. If I don't have to leave, I can still learn magic! Suddenly, he leaned forward.  
  
"You won't tell anyone, will you?" he asked. The other three boys nodded.  
  
"We understand that other people don't exactly share our views about werewolves," James replied wryly. "We plan to help you, not punish you."  
  
That staggered Remus even more. "Help me? Really?"  
  
Sirius shook his head, smiling. "Yes, help you. What did you think we'd do?"  
  
For a few minutes, Remus couldn't think of anything to say. All he could think about were memories of the pain he had gone through, of people shutting him out and avoiding him like a plague. Now, it was all going to change. "Thank you," he whispered.  
  
James and Sirius grinned broadly. "No problem," they responded in unison. Peter gave Remus a timid smile, and Remus smiled back.  
  
* * *  
  
"Finally, vacation," Sirius sighed, leaning back in the chair by the fire as a group of girls passed. One girl with red hair and green eyes gave him a disdainful look, which he ignored. Remus remembered her glaring at his two friends in the first History of Magic class. The two boys didn't seem to be making much of a good impression on her. He watched her go, sinking back into memories of the last few months. Now, a week after James and Sirius had found out, he still couldn't believe his luck.  
  
"She's cute, isn't she?" James cut into Remus' thoughts. Remus looked at him, taken by surprise.  
  
"So you got you sights set already?" Sirius asked, glancing at the portrait door, which was closing behind the girls. "Thought that you might last a bit longer than that, mate."  
  
"Hey, better to find out who's the best now," James replied. Remus shook his head. For all his brains, James could be really hard to understand sometimes. Once he was excited about something, he never made any sense.  
  
"So d'you think she'll go for you?" Sirius wondered with his eyes half-shut.  
  
"Of course!" James grinned at his friends. "Who wouldn't?"  
  
Sirius raised his hand. "Me."  
  
"But you're not a girl, friend." James was rolling his eyes. Peter laughed at the exchange. Sirius gave him a strange look, which he didn't see. A lot of the time, Sirius was annoyed by how Peter followed them and tried to copy them, but he held his tongue. His attention was drawn back to Remus, who was pulling books out of his bag.  
  
"What're you doing?" he asked, picking up the book that Remus had set on the table. "The Art of Potions? You're gonna do the essay today?"  
  
"Yeah," Remus replied, looking up from his bag, "why, you're going to leave it until the last day?"  
  
"That's what I was planning on." Sirius placed the book back on the table. "It's the first day of vacation! Lay off the books and have some fun!"  
  
"What were you planning to do?" Remus wondered, pulling the book back toward him and opening it.  
  
"Dunno, something outside," Sirius replied. He regretted saying that almost instantly as Remus paused for a moment, his face tightening a little.  
  
"How about sledding?" James suggested quickly, hoping to make the subject of outdoors sound a little better.  
  
"Sledding? What's that?" Sirius asked, sitting up.  
  
"You've never heard of sledding?" James replied, and Sirius shook his head. "Well, it's sort of a Muggle thing. You take a board or something like that, put it on runners, and go down a hill. Actually, its more fun if you just take one of those cheap plastic ones."  
  
"Alright, let's try it." Sirius stood and stretched. Remus abandoned his book and quill and followed the other two boys out of the common room. Peter trailed along behind. When they walked past the caretaker's office, James ducked inside and emerged a moment later with four purple discs.  
  
"You should see everything he's got in there!" James whispered, handing them each a disc. "Now we know where to get our supplies!"  
  
They headed outside and climbed up a hill. "Muggles do this for fun?" Sirius grunted when they reached the top. James ignored him.  
  
"Who's gonna go first?" he asked, looking around at his friends.  
  
"You're the expert on Muggle fun," Sirius replied, "so you can have the honors."  
  
Shrugging, James sat on his disc and pushed himself off. As they watched him go down, bouncing high as he hit bumps, Remus saw something move out of the corner of his eye. There was a boy standing about halfway down the hill! As James passed, the boy pointed his wand and a jet of green light hit James, who tumbled out of his disc and continued rolling down the hill.  
  
"It's that Snape kid!" Sirius shouted. He and Remus began running after him, slipping and sliding down the hill. The boy had a head start, but the two boys reached him before he was even halfway to the castle. Sirius took a running jump and brought Snape down, pulling out his wand and pointing it at the other boy's head. Soon, James and Peter joined them, James wincing slightly as he walked.  
  
"You deserved it," Snape spat. "You deserve worse. I know who you are – Mudbloods, blood traitors, a bunch of uncivilized kids running around with wands."  
  
Sirius' fingers closed around the wand. He drew his fist back and punched Snape as hard as he could. He continued to rain down punches until someone yelled at him.  
  
"Cut it out!"  
  
Remus looked away from Sirius, surprised to see the red-haired girl from earlier that morning. "Leave him alone!" she shouted. "What's he done to you?"  
  
"You want a list?" Sirius snarled, glaring at her.  
  
"Let him go," James muttered. Sirius whipped his head around, and James nodded. Furious, Sirius dragged Snape up from the ground and shoved him away.  
  
"Never talk about my friends that way," he growled, "and never – EVER – say anything about my family in front of me."  
  
Snape began running again, now nursing a bloody nose and a blackening eye. The girl left with her friends, shooting another dark look at Sirius. When they had walked out of earshot, Sirius whirled around to face James.  
  
"You're crazy!" he exclaimed. "You'd let Snape go just for a girl?"  
  
"Lily Evans is a very attractive girl," James replied, shrugging. "Besides, there'll be other chances to make Snape pay."  
  
Shaking his head, Sirius began walking back toward the castle, and the others followed. When they reached Gryffindor, Remus stopped James outside.  
  
"Why's Sirius so touchy about his family?" Remus whispered.  
  
Frowning, James replied, "He hates all of them. They're a bunch of pureblood maniacs, always warning him to stay away from the Mudbloods and half-bloods. He's sick of it, and sick of hearing about it. He'd probably stay at Hogwarts all year round if he had the chance."  
  
They walked into the common room, Remus now thinking about how hard Sirius must have it. He thought of his mother and father, and his uncles, aunts, and cousins. The rest of the day, he was lost in thought about people outside of Hogwarts.  
  
* * *  
  
A/N So was it good? Review and tell me what you think!  
  
TheDudeLordOfFantasy – Thanks again for reviewing! I hope you like this chapter!  
  
fthgj() – ok. Thanks for the review  
  
Hermione781 – Glad you like it! I hope you keep reviewing!  
  
Jennyangel – Tja! What kind of Marauders story would this be without Lily? I've just had some trouble finding places to put her in. Anyway Remus is one of my favorites too! And yeah, I was thinking of doing a DADA part in the last chapter, but I forgot to. I'll try to remember to do that in the next few chapters. Ok please keep sending reviews! 


	8. Murders

A/N Ok everybody thanx for reviewing! And I forgot to say where the last quote was from – it's "That Thing You Do." Great movie! Ok anyway next chapter!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter characters  
  
* * *  
  
"It says here that a werewolf won't attack an animal." Peter looked up at Remus. "Is that right?"  
  
Remus shrugged. "Don't know. I've never been around an animal on full moon."  
  
"Hmm," Sirius said, staring at the book in Peter's hands. "Maybe –"  
  
"Hey! Look at this!" James exclaimed, earning a dirty look from the librarian. Lowering his voice, he continued, holding out the newspaper he was reading. "It seems that there's some mass murderer on the loose. Ten people have been killed in the last month, three of them just last week. What do you think of that?"  
  
Sirius' annoyed look at being interrupted had disappeared, and he eagerly reached out for the newspaper. "'The Ministry is working overtime to find and capture this new threat of the wizarding world,'" he read aloud. "'The murder of a young family of three has made the situation even more alarming. If you have any report of a missing person or a strange death, you are encouraged to inform the Ministry immediately.'"  
  
Peter's face was a pale gray. "Do – do you think they'll catch him?" he asked fearfully.  
  
"Yeah, it's just a matter of time," Remus replied, trying to calm his friend. "Anyway, what were you saying, Sirius?"  
  
"About what?" Sirius asked, still reading the newspaper article.  
  
"Before the newspaper," Remus responded.  
  
"Oh," Sirius said, his eyes still scanning the page. "Hey, it says here that this murderer might have a bunch of accomplices. Like a huge gang or something."  
  
"Sirius!" James took the newspaper and folded it up. "It's not that interesting. What were you going to say?"  
  
"Oh yeah!" Sirius sat up in his chair. "What if we became Animagi?"  
  
Remus stared at him. Was he serious? A few eleven-year-olds become Anamagi? But James was grinning, a spark of adventure in his eye. "That's a great idea!"  
  
"But aren't you supposed to be watched by the Ministry while you're learning?" Peter asked with wide eyes. Sirius waved that aside.  
  
"We can figure it out! And the Ministry is so busy with that murderer, that they won't ever even think about looking for a few unregistered Anamagi!" he whispered, glancing over his shoulder to make sure that no one was listening. Remus started to get a little scared. It was one thing to break a few school rules, but this was a law!  
  
But look at all they're doing for you, one part of his mind argued. Are you going to tell them what to do when they're trying to help you? No, he decided, he would let them do it. After all, it was their choice.  
  
* * *  
  
That night, as the four boys sat down for dinner, Professor Dumbledore stood. James looked longingly at the empty plates, but he knew that Dumbledore had something important to say.  
  
"I have noticed," Dumbledore began, "that several of you have seen the article in the Daily Prophet."  
  
It would be hard not to notice, Remus thought. The halls had been buzzing all day about the murders.  
  
"I wish I could say that it was nothing," Dumbledore continued, "but I'm afraid that this is a very real threat indeed. I can promise you, however, that you will not be harmed here in Hogwarts. Also, the Minister wishes to assure you that they are doing all that they can to track down the killer and punish him. Until he is caught, we ask that those attending any activities outside of the school grounds, such as Hogsmeade, stay in groups until later notice." He sat down, and food appeared on the plates. Now, everyone in the Great Hall, including the staff, was whispering about Dumbledore's short speech.  
  
"So what do you think will happen?" Peter wondered, trembling.  
  
"Nothing," Sirius replied confidently through a mouthful of chicken. "They'll catch him before long."  
  
Remus hoped that his friend was right. The thought of a murderer on the loose made him nervous, though he was careful not to show it. He didn't want anyone to think that he was a coward. Still, the food tasted like sawdust in his dry mouth.  
  
* * *  
  
At breakfast a few days later, Remus heard a shriek come from Ashley Anatar, a third-year Gryffindor. She was staring at the newspaper. A second later, she stood up and ran out of the Great Hall. Several of her friends, Lily among them, followed. Remus turned to James, who was reading his copy of the Daily Prophet. Eyes wide, James handed the paper to Remus.  
  
Family Killed By Mysterious Murderer  
  
At approximately 1:07 AM, the ministry received a call from a distressed witch living in Liverpool. She reported a scream from her neighbor's house, and a bright flash of light. Upon arrival, the team of Aurors discovered nothing but the ruins of two houses, the house of the witch that called, and the house from which the scream was heard. Hovering above the house was a strange sight: a huge, green skull with a serpent protruding from its mouth. Six people were found dead in the ashes of the houses: Ashton Anatar, Liza Anatar, Brian Anatar, Suze Anatar, Therese Lange, and John Lange. Therese and John Lange, known for their skill as interpreters in foreign affairs, were not the target in this attack. Though the reason is not known, the murderer was set on killing the Anatar family.  
  
Shocked, Remus lowered the newspaper. Suddenly, everything about this murderer seemed a lot more real to him. Pushing away the food, he began to walk back to Gryffindor. The other three boys followed him, none of them speaking. They were each deep in thought about what had happened.  
  
* * *  
  
"Come on, think of Ashley," Sirius urged. "She needs a little something to help her."  
  
Remus didn't like it, but he knew that Sirius had a point. Ashley needed something to help take her mind off of things for a bit.  
  
"Alright," he said, starting towards the door. "But we need to be careful."  
  
They were planning to sneak out of Hogwarts and into Hogsmeade for a little while to get something for Ashley. Besides that, Sirius and James simply wanted to get out of the castle, where everything was so dark and somber. True, it was a dark time, but they felt that they wouldn't be able to bear much more of it.  
  
Under James' Invisibility Cloak, the four boys walked quietly to the statue of the humpbacked witch. "Dissendium!" James whispered, and the statue opened. As they hurried along the tunnel, James and Sirius felt better and better, while Remus felt worse and worse. He was afraid that something awful was going to happen while they were walking around the village.  
  
"Here we are!" Sirius murmured, pushing the trapdoor up. They went up the stairs quickly, and found themselves in the sweet shop. They bought a few things there. The shopkeeper looked at them a little suspiciously, but didn't say anything.  
  
For the next half-hour, they wandered around the village, buying things occasionally from the various shops. Finally, Remus suggested that they return to the castle.  
  
"If we stay much longer, someone's bound to notice that we're missing," he told his friends. James nodded reluctantly.  
  
"Let's just go into one more shop," he said, already turning to go into Zonko's. "There's probably something in here that will make anyone laugh."  
  
When they finally began walking back toward Honeydukes, Remus was feeling more nervous than ever. He couldn't explain the feeling, but he felt like something terrible was going to happen.  
  
"Hold on," James said, stopping and peering into an alleyway. "I thought I saw something."  
  
"What would be back there?" Remus asked, wanting more than ever to just get back to the castle.  
  
"I dunno, I thought a saw a little girl," replied James. He started down the alley, and the others followed. Remus could hear Peter's teeth chattering. After what seemed like forever, but was probably less than a minute, they saw a small girl curled up on the ground, her back against the wall.  
  
"Hey," James said softly, "are you lost?" The girl stared up at him with wide blue eyes. Her black hair was half-covering her face.  
  
"Come on, we can help you." Sirius reached down to pick up the little girl, but she screamed. Sirius paused for a moment, puzzled, and then felt something hard connect with the back of his skull. Remus looked around, and he froze. Five large men surrounded them, and each was pointing a wand at the group of kids. One of them was hooking the club he had used to hit Sirius back on his belt.  
  
"Well, look at this," the man growled menacingly. "A group of midgets out on their own. It's almost dark, you know. Someone's going to get worried about you.  
  
* * *  
  
A/N Cliffhanger! Ok review and tell me if you like it!  
  
TheDudeLordOfFantasy: Glad you like the last chapter! Keep reviewing, and tell me how you like the story!  
  
Jennyangel – Thanks for the review! Hope you like this next chapter! 


	9. The Little Sister

A/N New chapter R&R plz!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter characters.  
  
* * *  
  
Remus was frozen in place. He stared at the men, realizing with a shock that his life was actually in danger. As if in slow motion, he saw two of the men began to draw breath, and he and James dove to the ground, pulling Peter with them.  
  
"Stupefy!" The blast of red light flew over their head and hit the wall of the store next to them. A large hole appeared, and again, Remus and James acted instantly. James hoisted the still-unconscious Sirius over his shoulder as Remus snatched up the girl, and they were through the hole in the blink of an eye, shouting for Peter to hurry up. Peter clambered through the hole just as his friends were exiting through the door. After standing for a moment in dumb amazement, the five men began yelling and trying to climb in the hole all at once. Finally, the leader shouted, "They're already out the door! Go this way!"  
  
The boys ran faster than they ever had in their lives. Pure instinct and luck told them when to duck to avoid being hit by the various spells that were thrown at them. Panting, they dodged inside Honeydukes. Each nodding to the storekeeper as they passed, they jumped down the steps to the storage room. The storekeeper stared after them. He knew that there was a secret passageway, and he had seen several Hogwarts students sneak into the basement. However, the unconscious boy drew his attention. He started to go down the stairs to find out about it, but the door burst open again. Five burly men ran in, shouting. Three stayed above and began tearing apart the store, while two more went below.  
  
James entered the passageway last, dumping Sirius onto the floor and closing the trapdoor just as he heard the door above them slam open. The boys stayed where they were, too exhausted to move and afraid of making noise. They could only pray that the men didn't know about the trapdoor. As they sat on the dusty ground, they could hear boxes and jars being thrown. Remus felt sorry for the storekeeper, and he hoped that he wouldn't be hurt.  
  
"Where are they?" Remus jumped at the sudden shout, then listened hard for the storekeeper's reply.  
  
"I-I d-d-don't know," the man stuttered, and Remus felt slightly relieved. Looking at James, he saw that his friend still looked tense and worried. Peter looked plain, straight-out terrified. Remus felt sorry for him. He knew that Peter was easily scared. A loud crack drew Remus' attention away from his friends, and he heard the storekeeper cry out.  
  
"They came in here!" the leader growled. "We saw them! Where are they?!"  
  
"I don't know, I swear!" the storekeeper cried. There was another crack and a thud. Obviously, these men preferred physical contact to magical pain.  
  
"Why don't we just leave them?" asked one voice, and Remus began to feel a little bit of hope.  
  
"We can't!" the leader shouted, and Remus' spirits sank again. "If they blab, we'll be in huge trouble with the Lord Voldemort!"  
  
"They won't tell! They don't even know who we are!" another man yelled. "I'll stay for ten more minutes, then I'm leaving!"  
  
There was an instant chorus of agreement, drowned out by the leader, shouting again. "Fine! Fine! But you stay for fifteen more minutes, and if they talk, you're the one explaining it to the boss!"  
  
It was the longest fifteen minutes of Remus' life. When they finally heard loud footsteps leaving and the door slamming shut, the boys moved down the passageway silently, afraid that the men were bluffing. At the end of the passageway, James once again dropped Sirius to the ground.  
  
"We can't take him in like this," he explained, sitting on the ground again. "They must've hit him pretty hard, he's been out for more than a half-hour."  
  
Just as James said this, Sirius stirred. The boy sat up groggily, rubbing the back of his head. "What happened?" he muttered.  
  
James shook his head. "You missed out on the action. After you got knocked out, we ran for our lives and saved your unconscious butt."  
  
"What about her?" Peter asked, pointing to the small girl in Remus' arms. Remus set her down on the ground.  
  
"How old are you?" he asked her softly. Looking at her hand, she carefully put up three fingers, then showed them to the boys. "Three? What happened? Why were you all alone?"  
  
"Got lost," the little girl replied.  
  
"What's your name?" wondered Sirius.  
  
"Becky," answered the girl. "You help me?"  
  
"Yes, we'll help you," Remus assured her. "What's your last name, Becky?"  
  
"Evans," Becky told him. James stared at her.  
  
"Evans! You mean, as in Lily Evans?"  
  
"Sister!" Becky looked all around. "Where sister?"  
  
"She's not here, but we know where she is," Sirius responded. "We'll take you to her." Becky nodded, then held her arms out to Remus again.  
  
"Carry," she ordered. Grinning, Remus picked her up again, and she wrapped her small arms around his neck.  
  
They walked to Gryffindor slowly, each of them tired and dirty. Becky fell asleep while they were walking. When they got to the portrait door, they stopped. Staring at each other, they wondered what exactly they were going to say to Lily.  
  
"Well, let's just get it over with," James said, shrugging. They entered the common room, feeling extremely conspicuous. Lily and her friends weren't there.  
  
"Go check the dorms," Sirius suggested. James started up the steps. When he was about halfway up, a loud screeching noise made them all jump. The stairs melted away, and James slipped and slid down the newly-formed slide, landing on his head at the bottom. His three friends laughed as he got up.  
  
"Well, I guess we just wait for them to come," James said, grinning sheepishly. Remus hoped that they would come soon – his arm was starting to cramp up. None of the noise had woken Becky up. Carefully, he set her down in an armchair by the fire.  
  
"Looks like you got a girlfriend," Sirius teased Remus. "You have more luck with girls than Potter here has."  
"Well, that's the truth," said a girl with light brown hair, coming down the slide.  
  
"What's the truth, Erin?" Lily came down the slide next. When she came to a stop at the bottom, she rolled her eyes. "You again? What do you need now, Potter?"  
  
James opened his mouth and closed it again, not sure of what to say. He didn't need to say anything, however; Lily saw the small girl on the armchair.  
  
"Becky!" she gasped, then rounded on the boys. "Why is she here? What did you do to her?"  
  
"We didn't do anything!" James protested.  
  
"Sister!" Becky, finally awake, was running to Lily. Lily picked her up. "Sister! Sister!"  
  
"Hi Becky!" Lily replied cheerfully.  
  
"They save me," Becky told her. Lily looked at her in confusion.  
  
"Who saved you?"  
  
Becky pointed to the boys. Lily's mouth opened slightly. "Them? Those boys saved you?" Becky nodded. "What happened, Becky?" The girl shook her head and buried her face in Lily's shoulder. Lily now turned back to the boys. "What happened?" she repeated.  
  
James quickly began to explain everything to her. When he was through, she looked close to tears.  
  
"So you guys just grabbed her and ran?" she asked in disbelief. James nodded. Lily sank onto the armchair, looking overwhelmed. After an awkward silence, she said, "Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome," James replied confidently. Now that the whole thing was almost over, he was regaining his cocky attitude. Becky squirmed, and Lily set her on the ground. The small girl ran to Remus and hugged his knees. Remus was caught by surprise, then he blushed. Several of the girls behind Lily smiled at him.  
  
The next day, Mrs. Evans came by to pick up Becky. She gave each of the boys a hug and a large piece of chocolate from Honeydukes, thanking them for helping her little girl. James sneaked a look at Lily and saw that she was looking at him. He smiled, thinking that he might have a chance with her after all.  
  
* * *  
  
A/N Any good? I was kind of struggling for ideas, so this is a little off- track, but still – ok so review and tell me what you think!  
  
TheDudeLordOfFantasy: Expect the unexpected! Ok so thanx for the review, and please keep reviewing!  
  
Jennyangel: Really? That sounds like something me and my friends would have done! Either that or just go sit out in the middle of the street at night- we did that once. But I'm losing focus here. Ok so thanx for all your reviews! 


	10. The Eyes

A/N Teachers are evil. That's all I'm going to say.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter Characters.  
  
* * *  
  
"So who's Lord Voldemort?" James wondered. The four boys were in the common room, trying to figure out who the men had been working for while they did their homework, which had been put off until the last day of vacation.  
  
"Who?" Peter asked, looking up from his essay. James rolled his eyes.  
  
"You know, the guy that they mentioned while they were looking for us," he explained.  
  
"I don't know," Remus replied, "but I don't really care right now. You know these are due tomorrow, right James?"  
  
"Ah, come on." James sat back in his chair and put his feet on the table. "What's more important, those thugs or some teachers?"  
  
"Some teachers," Remus answered without hesitation. "Come on James, we're most likely never going to see those guys again, unless they're in the newspaper or something."  
  
"But what if Voldemort is that murderer on the loose?" James leaned forward again. "They'd be looking for us."  
  
"Not if we keep our mouths shut," Remus responded, flipping the page in his book. "You heard what they said. If they tell their boss that they let a couple of kids go, he'd flip out. So as long as we shut up and ignore the whole thing, we won't get in any trouble."  
  
"That's what you want?" Sirius stepped in, siding with James. "You'd let a bunch of criminals escape when there's a chance for adventure?"  
  
Remus sighed. How did they always manage to make him feel like a loser? "Let's go outside," he suggested.  
  
While they were walking down the halls, several Gryffindor and Hufflepuff girls said hi to Remus. He was a little embarrassed by the attention. The story of Lily's little sister had traveled around the school quickly, and the girls apparently thought that it was a cute story. Sirius slapped him on the back.  
  
"You've got yourself a fan club, mate," he grinned. Remus shook his head, wishing he hadn't suggested going outside. He waited for the smart- aleck remark from James that usually followed Sirius's, but James was busy watching the group of girls in front of them, where Lily was. He stuck his hands in his pockets and walked by them casually. Sirius shook his head in disgust.  
  
"You're obsessed with her, James," Sirius remarked. James ignored that, and they continued outside in silence.  
  
"So here's the plan," James whispered, once they were away from the crowds of other students. "You remember Rob Weasely?" Remus nodded. "We can ask him to show us other passageways around the school. That way, we'll be able to get to different places faster, and we'll know where we can escape fast."  
  
"What if he won't show us?" Peter asked nervously.  
  
"He will," Sirius replied confidently, putting a long blade of grass in his mouth.  
  
Sirius was right. When they asked Rob to show them some secret passageways, he agreed immediately, and they decided to go the next night. Remus was getting that sinking feeling in his stomach, the same feeling he got every time his friends planned a new adventure.  
  
"Come on, hurry up," Rob said, motioning for the four younger boys to go out the portrait hole. They stood outside, waiting for him to take the lead. After taking a minute to check that no one was watching, Rob exited Gryffindor and began walking briskly.  
  
"A lot of these just go from one part of the school to another," he explained in a whisper. "But there's a few that go outside the school. This statue over here will take you to the second floor." Pushing hard on a stone Erumpet's horn, he moved the head aside, revealing a long slide. "Who's going first?"  
  
James and Sirius both jumped forward, but James got there first. He enjoyed the ride down, picking up speed until the slide leveled out and put him on the second floor. As he stood, he thought he saw something move into a classroom, but he didn't see anything when he looked around. Sirius came out of the end of the tunnel then, which happened to be behind a painting of a herd of Re'em. Soon, they were all there, and Rob took the lead again.  
  
"This doesn't exactly lead anywhere, but it's a good place to bring a girl," he told them with a wink. At the end of the tunnel, James could see why. There was a large window with a view of the countryside and the lake, and it seemed to fit his view of a girl's idea of romance. That kind of romance, to him, was a lot of mush and kind of stupid, but he knew that was how to win a girl.  
  
As they walked back through the tunnel, James was thinking about what he had seen as he came out of the first passageway. Curiosity overcame him, and he whispered, "I'm going to go check something out. I'll catch up in a minute."  
  
"Ok, we'll wait by that picture of Boris the Bewildered over there if you haven't caught up by the time we get there," Rob responded, pointing. James nodded and turned back towards the door he had seen something disappear into.  
  
As he walked down there, he felt a little bit of fear rising in him. He pushed it down, refusing to let it get the better of him. While he concentrated on ignoring his fear, he walked right past the classroom. When he realized that, he began to walk back towards the classroom. He hadn't gone five steps when he heard a door behind him open. Spinning around, he saw a hand pointing a wand at him. It took him a second to react, and that second was too long.  
  
"Imperio!"  
  
James had a sudden, light-headed feeling. The feeling triggered an automatic mistrust in him.  
  
Walk into the classroom.  
  
Immediately, he obeyed the voice. About halfway to the door, he forced himself to stop, questioning why he was obeying.  
  
Walk into the classroom!  
  
The voice was sharper now, and James moved one or two steps before stopping again. He fought the voice, angry at it's control over him, and broke free. After glancing at the man in the doorway, he began to run. The man leapt after him, trying to grab James and stop him. James looked around the hall wildly, but his friends had gone into another passageway. He felt a strong hand grip his ear and yank back. The skin tore, and James tried to yell out in pain and anger as he felt blood flow down his neck. A gag appeared in his mouth, choking him, and ropes bound his hands and feet. The man picked him up and threw him into the room.  
  
Looking around, James saw that two more men were waiting inside the room, one hidden by shadows in the corner. His arm was numb from the impact with the stone floor, but he couldn't sit up. The ropes were cutting off the circulation in his limbs.  
  
"He's a smart one, this one," muttered the man who had chased James.  
  
"He's only a first year," the second man scoffed, standing in front of James.  
  
"Yes, but he's got a strong mind," replied the first one defensively. "I'm telling you, he had no problem breaking away."  
  
"Maybe you're just losing your touch," said the second man.  
  
"I'm the best in the business," growled the first threateningly. "Lord Voldemort handpicked me for this mission, and there's a reason for that."  
  
There was that Lord Voldemort again. James wondered what exactly this mission was that they were talking about, and what they were after him for. The second man peered closer at James, then laughed quietly.  
  
"Well, well," he chuckled, "looks like we've found one of those brats we met in Hogsmeade." He gave James a hard kick just under his eye. That act made James boil over. He squirmed and rolled wildly and managed to get his hands in front of him, and the ground. Kicking upward with both feet, he heard a hiss of air go out of one man as he doubled over, clutching his stomach.  
  
Too high, thought James, preparing to aim another kick at the other man. However, as he kicked, the man caught his feet and dragged him to a chair, using his wand to tie the boy down.  
  
"Let me do it," said the man in the corner, his voice an odd, hissing sound. James saw the man in front of him pale a little.  
  
"We do not want to damage his mind, though," he replied, trying to sound somewhat respectful.  
  
"If he can throw off the Imperius Curse that easily, his mind will be fine," the shadowed man answered coldly.  
  
"As you wish." The man stepped back. James continued to struggle against the ropes, trying to break free. As the man stepped out of the shadows, James glanced up for a moment. When he saw the man's face, he was distracted. More particularly, it was his eyes. They were huge, the size of softballs, and completely black. When James looked closer, he saw a tiny speck of white appear in the center.  
  
"Keep watching," the man hissed unnecessarily. James couldn't break the eye contact. The white dot grew larger and larger. It seemed to envelope James, and he could feel all his thoughts and feelings being wiped away. The two other men watched, a little bit afraid of the power being displayed. The boy's struggles slowed and finally stopped, his eyes glued to the strange man's. Soon, James sat quietly, waiting for instructions.  
  
* * *  
  
A/N Good? Hope so. Review please!  
  
TheDudeLordOfFantasy – Well, they won't actually become Anamagi for a while, but I'm working on them learning about it. Thanks for the review!  
  
Jennyangel – Nope, haven't seen Remus yet, I'll have to go look for a pic of him. Thanks for reviewing! 


	11. James

A/N I'm really sorry that this took so long! My computer crashed and then we had state testing and then a whole bunch of other things happened. Anyway. . . here's the next chapter!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter things you're all familiar with.  
  
"There he is."  
  
Sirius pointed to the dark figure walking towards them, and Remus breathed a sigh of relief. He was growing more uneasy with every passing second, and a lot of seconds had passed since they had last seen James. However, when James reached them, he became even more nervous, and he couldn't really pinpoint why. Unless it was the blood dripping down his neck, of course.  
  
"James! What happened?" Sirius asked, wiping a bit of the blood off to make sure it wasn't fake. Reaching up to his ear, James got a perplexed look on his face.  
  
"I don't know," he admitted, touching his ear lightly. "I didn't even notice it until now."  
  
Rob looked at his watch impatiently. "Look, I don't mean to spoil your prank or anything, but we really need to get moving."  
  
"It's not-"  
  
"Whatever," Rob interrupted, "let's go!"  
  
They followed him back to Gryffindor in silence, James still fingering his ear as if trying to find out what had happened. Remus, though, was having a slight problem believing that. He tried to think of any reason James would have to pull a prank like this, but he couldn't think of one. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that James was faking it. Maybe it was the fact that he looked like he didn't feel any pain, despite the fact that his ear was ripped open.  
  
When Sirius fell asleep that night, he had a strange dream. In it, he saw James, his best friend, hugging Lily, then pulling his wand out and pointing it at Dumbledore. Dumbledore's back was turned, and Sirius saw James say something, but didn't hear what it was. The headmaster slowly turned, and James began to change. He grew tall and his skin turned pale, and his eyes got cold and merciless. Dumbledore shook his head sadly and looked at the boy who had once been James, and the boy grew angry. He shouted silently, and there was a flash of green light. When it faded, both the boy and Dumbledore stood unchanged, and the boy's angry look changed to fear. Dumbledore spoke, and Sirius woke with the headmaster's voice in his ears.  
  
"Evil cannot win, Tom."  
  
Tom? Who was Tom? What had that green light been? Wearily, Sirius dismissed the dream as nothing important, rolled over, and fell asleep once again.  
  
In the morning, James was unusually quiet. As Sirius waited for some kind of conversation to start, he remembered his dream. He began to shake it off, then began to think about what was happening here. James was acting oddly, Remus seemed to be extremely tense, and Peter – well, Peter was eating his eggs and talking to the three boys, none of whom were paying any attention. Something was definitely wrong. Just to be sure, Sirius decided to try something.  
  
After breakfast, Sirius jumped up and led the way out of the Great Hall – straight past Lily's group of friends. Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius saw that Remus was paying close attention to James. As they passed by Lily, nothing happened. James didn't even blink. Sirius and Remus exchanged worried glances while Peter continued chatting, oblivious to what was going on.  
  
Classes were especially hard that day. Both Sirius and Remus were trying to pay close attention to the teacher, but their eyes kept drifting back to James, who was taking notes silently, without looking at his friends even once. During History of Magic, Remus and Sirius became especially worried because James took notes during the entire lecture. The two boys whispered to each other, making sure that James couldn't hear what they were saying.  
  
"Something's wrong with him," Sirius muttered darkly. "He's not acting normal. He's not even reacting at all! All he does is sit and work."  
  
"It's like he doesn't feel anything anymore," Remus whispered back, shooting a concerned look at James. "No pain, no emotion, nothing!"  
  
"Do you think something happened last night?" Sirius asked anxiously. "We shouldn't have let him go alone, one of us should've gone with him."  
  
"Don't be stupid," Remus shot back. "Even if we all had gone, I'm willing to bet that we would've ended up exactly like him."  
  
"But what's wrong with him?!" Sirius was really worried, and that made him irritable.  
  
"You think I know?" Remus replied angrily, just as worried and agitated as Sirius. The bell rang, and they both snatched up their bags, exiting without looking at each other. Once they were out in the hallway, Sirius sighed.  
  
"Sorry, I shouldn't lose my temper about this," he told Remus. "It's just bugging the heck out of me that James is all messed up like this."  
  
Remus nodded. "I know, me too. But I don't know what we're supposed to do about it."  
  
"There's nothing we can do for now," Sirius answered resignedly.  
  
The day seemed to drag on forever, Peter still clueless while Remus and Sirius worried. When Remus went to bed, he had no hope for sleep. He figured that he had too much on his mind. However, it seemed that he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.  
  
In the morning, Remus awoke to the sounds of people in the Common room talking to each other, not bothering to keep their voices down. He stood and walked down the stairs to see what all the commotion was about. After fighting his way to the bulletin board, he read the new sign there and paled.  
  
"Siri-"As he turned around, Remus came face-to-face with his friend. Sirius read the sign, looking like he was going to be sick.  
  
Classes will be canceled today, due to the attack on Professor Dumbledore last night. You are not to leave your House. Further information will be given by your Head of House.  
  
As if on cue, the portrait door opened, and Professor McGonagall stepped in. All talked instantly ceased as the door creaked open, then resumed quickly.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Is Professor Dumbledore okay?"  
  
"Did they catch the attacker?"  
  
McGonagall held up her hands, and the noise slowly stopped. She looked at the crowd of students with a solemn expression on her face. "Professor Dumbledore was not hurt at all. Unfortunately, the culprit has not been captured. Until we find that all is safe, you are to remain here."  
  
She exited, and the noise rose up once again. Sirius and Remus looked at each other and spoke together. "James!"  
  
A/N Ok, a little shorter than usual, but I was trying to get this out before any more time passed. Ok, plz review!!!  
  
TheDudeLordOfFantasy – Not exactly a kidnapping, but close. Sort of. Hope you like the chapter! Thanks again for all your reviews!!! 


	12. The Next Chapter

A/N Have I been totally confusing everyone? Sorry! I guess I just know what I'm thinking and assume everyone else does too! Ok I'll try to clear some things up in this chapter.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything here but the plot.  
  
Remus and Sirius dashed up the stairs and into the dormitory, stopping in front of James' bed. They stood there for a moment, wondering what exactly they were supposed to do.  
  
"Do you really think it could've been him?" Remus asked, afraid of the answer.  
  
"He wouldn't have," Sirius replied, although his voice sounded a little unsure. "I've known him for a long time, and he would never do anything like that."  
  
Remus was almost sure that James would never attack Dumbledore, but all the clues pointed in one direction. Then, something occurred to him. "What if," he began, then paused.  
  
"What if what?" Sirius prodded, eager for anything to prove his friend innocent.  
  
"What if he was being controlled?" Remus said slowly. "What if something happened when he went down that corridor? I've read somewhere that there's a curse that can control people. Maybe someone else was trying to kill Dumbledore, and they used James."  
  
At first, the idea seemed far-fetched to Sirius. After all, why would someone pick James out of the hundreds of students at this school? Then, slowly, it made more and more sense. It was likely that a person who was looking for someone to use would take the first kid that they found. If they had met up with James at night, it would have been too good of a chance to give up.  
  
"So you're saying that James is under a spell to make him try and kill Dumbledore?" Sirius asked, trying to put all the pieces together.  
  
"I'm not sure," Remus answered, fiddling with the hem of his sleeve. Sirius had learned that Remus did that whenever he was thinking hard. "I'd have to do some research, but it's the best idea that I have so far."  
  
"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's get to the library!" Sirius was halfway to the door when Remus stopped him.  
  
"We can't leave," Remus reminded him. "I'm willing to bet that we'd get a little more than just a few points lost if we go to the library now."  
  
Sirius looked at James again, suddenly realizing how loud they were talking. "Let's go back downstairs before we wake him up," he whispered.  
  
"Are you crazy?" Remus whispered back. "There's tons of people down there!"  
  
"Exactly," Sirius replied, moving towards the stairs. "Which means it'll be less likely that we'll be overheard." Remus stood for a moment, considering the logic, then followed Sirius.  
  
"Ok," Remus said once they were out of the dormitory. "They can't keep us in here more than a day. It can't take them more than that to search the castle. So once they let us out, I'll go to the library and start looking up that curse."  
  
"And I'll help," Sirius said, but Remus shook his head firmly.  
  
"No," he told Sirius. The boy opened his mouth to argue, but Remus continued. "If we both go, that would leave only Peter with James. Do you really want to leave James completely unwatched? He could do anything! One of us has to be with him all the time. We both know that James could get away from me easily, so you have to stay with him. Got it?"  
  
Sirius was about to protest, but then he began to think about what Remus was saying. Finally, he nodded once. "Alright. You hurry up and find some information about that curse, and I'll keep an eye on him."  
  
The day passed slowly. James joined the two boys downstairs after a few hours, but Peter wouldn't leave the dormitory. He was pale and visibly trembling. Remus tried to coax him out, but it was no use. Sirius would have laughed if he hadn't been so worried about other things.  
  
At about 4:00 that afternoon, Professor McGonagall returned to tell them that they were free to leave the Common Room, but several people seemed to feel safer where they were. Remus went to the library alone, feeling extremely nervous.  
  
"Remus?"  
  
He nearly fell out of his seat and accidentally knocked a couple of books off of the table he was sitting at. Looking up, he saw Lily standing next to him.  
  
"Oh, hi," he replied, trying to discreetly move in front of the books.  
  
"What are you reading?" she asked as she picked up one of the books. "Ancient Curses? The Worst Curse? What exactly are you looking for?"  
  
"J-just curious about something P-p-professor Flitwick mentioned in c- class," he stammered, feeling his face grow red. He always stumbled over his words when he was nervous, and he hated it.  
  
"Hm." Lily stood for a moment, staring at the books.  
  
"Was there something you n-needed?" Remus asked. Lily snapped back to attention.  
  
"Sirius is looking for you," she told him. "I came in here to check out Hogwarts: A History and saw you, so I figured I'd tell you. Knowing him, he'll end up getting lost."  
  
Remus attempted a feeble laugh before answering. "What about James? Was he with Sirius?"  
  
Lily frowned. "No, that was the odd thing. Usually those two are together."  
  
Gulping, Remus stammered, "Ok, then, I g-g-guess I'd b-better g-go now." He sped off to the exit, leaving Lily staring after him.  
  
"Boys," she muttered, rolling her eyes.  
  
Remus nearly ran into Sirius as he ran out of the library.  
  
"I lost him!" Sirius exclaimed, then, looking around, lowered his voice. "He gave me the slip when we were going for some food. That blundering idiot Peter tripped and knocked me over, and by the time I got up, James was gone!"  
  
The news shocked Remus. "B-but that means-"He looked up and down the corridor, hoping to see James coming towards them, but the hall was empty.  
  
"We have to find Dumbledore!" Sirius turned and began running to the stairs.  
  
"You don't even know where his office is!" Remus called after him as he started to run.  
  
"Yes I do! Follow me!"  
  
The two boys sprinted up three sets of stairs, then Sirius put a finger to his lips, warning Remus to be quiet. They crept down the long hallway and looked around a corner. In front of a stone gryffin, James was kneeling down. Sirius motioned for Remus to stay put, and began walking silently toward James.  
  
"Sirius! I've been looking all over for you!"  
  
Peter came out of an adjoining corridor and froze, taking in the strange scene. James spun around and looked first at Peter, then at Sirius, and took off. Swearing loudly, Sirius followed him at top speed. Remus followed suit, going after the two taller boys as fast as he could.  
  
"Stay there and don't move!" he shouted at Peter, angry that the boy had ruined their trap. As he started to run up his fourth set of stairs, James and Sirius came rolling down, kicking and punching each other. Remus jumped out of the way, catching sight of a wand being pulled out.  
  
"Sirius! Watch out!" he shouted. The words had barely left his mouth when there was a bright flash of light and a cloud of smoke. The sounds of struggling died down, and Remus was sure he had been too late. He stood there, waiting for one of his best friends to kill him. The smoke began to clear, and Remus waited to see what had happened to Sirius.  
  
A/N Ok chapter? Review please!  
  
TheDudeLordOfFantasy – So did I explain things a little better? I hope you like this chapter! And about the Animagi thing – I thought that was what happened. That's why I haven't had them start learning yet. Anyhow, thanks for the review! 


	13. Trouble With McGonagall

A/N Oops, my bad. It's a gargoyle that guards Dumbledore's office, not a gryffin. Anyhow, next chapter! Hope you like it! And jut FYI , I love the Beatles!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything familiar to you peoples, it belongs to Rowling.  
  
It seemed to take forever the smoke to disappear. Remus waited, holding his breath. Then, he let out a yell.  
  
"Yes!"  
  
It burst out of him, echoing down the corridors. Instead of seeing Sirius dead on the floor, he saw Sirius pinning James to the floor, with James' wand a couple of feet away. Remus ran to get it and pointed it at James. As he began to think about what was happening, he felt nauseous. This was his friend that they were defending themselves from. Before he could think anything else, though, he heard another voice.  
  
"What do you think you are doing?!"  
  
McGonagall looked at the three boys, first with confusion, then with anger. "I am ashamed of you boys! Acting like this when we are all in danger! Besides that, you, who are best friends, are using your wands on each other for a small quarrel! Black, get off of Potter this instant!"  
  
Sirius didn't move. "Professor, you don't understand-"  
  
"I understand perfectly, thank you!" McGonagall seemed ready to explode with anger. "If you do not get up, you will lose your House twenty points and have detention for a week! And you, Lupin," she said, turning her wrath on Remus, "you know better than this! You not only let your friends fight, you participated!"  
  
Remus' jaw dropped. "But Professor-"  
  
"But nothing! After all that has been going on, after the attack, I had hoped that you at least-"  
  
"Listen!"  
  
He hadn't intended to yell it, but that was how it came out. McGonagall hesitated for a moment, amazed that Remus had interrupted her so rudely in the middle of her lecture. He took advantage of her silence and started to talk very quickly.  
  
"We think we know who attacked Dumbledore last night," he said, glancing at Sirius. The other boy opened his mouth to protest, then shut it again. Remus took this as an acknowledgment that the truth needed to come out, and hurried on. "See, James was acting really odd yesterday, and we couldn't figure out what was wrong. Today, when we heard about Dumbledore, we thought that something might have happened to James and he might have done it. Then, when I was at the library, James ditched Sirius, so we went looking for him and found him in front of Dumbledore's office doing something. Sirius was going to see what he was doing, and James turned around and saw him and started running. When Sirius caught him, James tried to curse Sirius or something, but Sirius dodged it and pinned him down. And that – that was when you came."  
  
There was a long silence. Swallowing, Remus chanced a look at McGonagall. Her mouth had almost disappeared, and her eyes shot daggers at him. Snap, he thought.  
  
"Remus Lupin," McGonagall said in a quiet voice that radiated anger. "I would have thought that you – you, of all people – would have something better to do than think up cock-and-bull stories to try and cover for your friends. We are going to see the Headmaster. Follow me."  
  
"But what about-"  
  
"Now, Mr. Black!"  
  
Sirius scowled. "Fine." Roughly, he pushed James onto his stomach and pulled the boy's hands behind his back. Standing up, he yanked James up and waited for McGonagall to lead the way.  
  
"I think that Potter can walk by himself," McGonagall told him acidly. Remus' stomach churned. If James got away, things could get bad.  
  
"No."  
  
Sirius' remark made the professor raise her eyebrows, then she turned and walked briskly down the corridor. The three boys followed her, silent except for the sounds of footsteps.  
  
"Dragon Drops."  
  
No sooner had she spoken than the stone gargoyle sprang to life, hopping to the side. As Remus stepped inside, he found that the only thing he could think about was that he hadn't stammered once while he had been talking to McGonagall. Strangely, he was still calm. If anyone believed their story, it would be Dumbledore.  
  
"Go inside and explain yourselves to Professor Dumbledore," McGonagall ordered them, still seething. Sirius glared at her, and she glared back. Neither would break eye contact until Remus pulled Sirius away.  
  
As they entered, Dumbledore looked up in surprise. "Is there something you need, boys?" He gave Sirius and James a long look, but didn't say anything else.  
  
Swallowing hard, Remus prepared to repeat their story. As he explained everything, Dumbledore remained silent, listening intently. He told the headmaster everything except the part that they were wandering around the school at night. When he was finished, he took a deep breath and tried to keep looking Dumbledore in the eye. Without speaking, Dumbledore rose and walked over to look at James, shaking his head.  
  
"You were good to think so, Remus, but I'm afraid that James is not under the Imperius Curse," he finally told them. It suddenly became very hard for Remus to swallow.  
  
"What?" Sirius yelped, the color draining out of his face. "You mean he did that on his own free will?"  
  
"Oh, no," Dumbledore replied quickly, "I simply mean that he is not under the Imperius Curse. There is more than one way to control a person, I'm afraid."  
  
"So what's wrong with him?" Remus asked. Dumbledore shook his head.  
  
"I'm not quite sure yet," he admitted, and Remus' stomach sank. Dumbledore couldn't not know! He couldn't!  
  
"So what're we supposed to do?" Sirius yelled, tightening his grip as James began to struggle more violently.  
  
"Just a moment." The longer Dumbledore looked at James, the harder James tried to break loose. Sirius was starting to sweat from the effort of keeping his friend under control. A flash of understanding came into Dumbledore's face, and he gripped James' shoulders. Remus watched, curious and a little afraid, as the headmaster murmured strange words under his breath. James began to stop struggling, growing calmer as Dumbledore continued to mutter.  
  
"NO!"  
  
Remus jumped out of his skin, and Sirius released James in surprise. The boy sank to the floor, gripping his head between his knees. Gently but firmly, Dumbledore pulled him back up.  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I couldn't stop it!" James was shouting incoherently. "I tried not to but it was too strong! I didn't want to!"  
  
"James, you must calm down," Dumbledore said, giving James a little shake. Slowly, James began to breathe a bit more slowly. Dumbledore nodded and asked, "Would you please tell us what happened?"  
  
Closing his eyes, James nodded, took a deep breath, and began his story.  
  
A/N End of Chapter Thirteen! Review Please!  
  
TheDudeLordOfFantasy – Peter? Hmm. You'll just have to wait until next time to find out! Thanx for the review! 


	14. James' Story

A/N Here's the next chapter! Hope you like it!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the stuff you ppls recognise, it belongs to Rowling.  
  
"The last thing I remember," James began, his voicing still shaky, "before I was – controlled or whatever, was this man. He had huge eyes, and when I looked at them, it was kind of like they were surrounding me or something. Then, it was like I fell asleep for a few minutes. The next thing that I saw was Sirius asking what happened to my ear, because one of the guys who grabbed me had torn it open. I tried to tell him what happened, but I didn't. I said I didn't know. It was like I could see what was going on, but I couldn't do anything. That's how it happened all of the next day, except there's blank spots, where I can't remember what happened. I remember sneaking out of the dormitory to get here, but I don't remember what I did after that." James looked down, ashamed that he had been the one that attacked Dumbledore.  
  
"It's not your fault," Dumbledore said softly. "There are very few people who can resist the power of that man."  
  
"But I shouldn't have gotten caught in the first place!" the boy burst out. "It was a stupid thing to do, and I should've known that!"  
  
Dumbledore shook his head, but didn't reply.  
  
"But who were those guys working for?" Sirius asked, eager for a little more information.  
  
For another moment, the headmaster didn't say anything. Finally, with an odd look, he said, "Tom."  
  
That was it. The three boys waited for him to say something else, but it was silent.  
  
"Who's Tom?" Sirius prodded after a minute.  
  
"That, I'm afraid, is a subject for another day," replied Dumbledore. "Now, I'm sure that you are all terribly exhausted after all that has happened today."  
  
"I'm not!" protested Sirius boldly. "Who's Tom?"  
  
"You'll have to hear that story another day," said Dumbledore firmly. "James, if you need anything, you can go to Madam Pomfrey."  
  
"I'll be okay," James responded quickly. He didn't want his story to be all around the school by morning. With a nod, Dumbledore dismissed them.  
  
"Well, now we have two names to figure out, and still no help," Sirius grumbled as they walked up one of the staircases. There was no reply. Looking at his friends, he saw James with his head down and Remus playing with the hem of his sleeve.  
  
"Look, James-"Sirius started to say, but then he changed his mind when he saw the expression on his friend's face. Instead, he asked, "What're you thinking about, Remus?"  
  
There was no answer. Remus continued on as if he hadn't heard anything.  
  
"Remus? Remus!" Sirius shouted. Finally, Remus looked up in surprise.  
  
"Oh, sorry," he said sheepishly, "I was kind of thinking hard."  
  
"I noticed," replied Sirius dryly, "want to tell us what you were thinking so hard about?"  
  
"Well," Remus said, with a quick glance at James, who still hadn't looked up, "what if Tom and this Lord Voldemort guy are the same person? And what if this is someone that Dumbledore knows, or at least used to know? And then what if Dumbledore knows what this guy is doing? And what if – "He stopped suddenly, then shook his head. "It's mostly just a lot of guesswork."  
  
"It's a start," Sirius stated as they arrived at Gryffindor. They drew more than a few stares as they crossed the Common Room; most people had never seen James so quiet. Remus noticed that Lily's eyes followed them as they went up the staircase. She looked anxious about something, but he forgot about it as soon as he entered the dormitory. He really was exhausted, and his bed looked really nice and soft. Unfortunately for him, Peter had followed them up.  
  
"What happened?" he squeaked. "Why were you all chasing each other? Did I do something wrong? I didn't mean to mess anything up, I didn't know – "  
  
"SHUT UP!" Sirius roared, throwing a pillow at him. Eyes wide, Peter clamped his mouth shut and sat stiffly on his bed. Jumping between the sheets, Remus was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.  
  
The next day was Saturday, leaving the whole school plenty of time to exchange rumors. James, Remus, and Sirius took their breakfast outside, followed by Peter. The cold morning was silent, the heavy grey clouds pressing down on them.  
  
"Want to go watch Quidditch practice?" Sirius suggested.  
  
"Sure," James replied. Remus glanced at him, glad that he was finally starting to talk again.  
  
After about a half-hour, it began to snow. It snowed harder and harder, soon turning almost to a blizzard. The four boys ran back to the castle, half-frozen by the time they got there. James paused just outside the doors, in front of a stone pillar, and Sirius got a relieved look on his face. Curious, Remus looked from James to Sirius, then back to James. Pulling off his gloves, James tossed them to Sirius and began punching the pillar. Not just lightly punching it, but punching as hard as he could. Remus stared uncertainly, almost wondering if James' mind had been affected by the past few days. After a minute or two, James took his gloves back and led the way into the castle.  
  
"I'll explain later," Sirius whispered when Remus looked at him. They followed James, who was now wiping the blood off of his knuckles, and returned to the Gryffindor Common Room. Peter was still looking at James fearfully, as if he thought James might suddenly turn and attack them.  
  
"Potter!"  
  
Stephen Holt, Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, motioned for James to join him. Sirius started to follow, but Remus stopped him.  
  
"What was that all about?" asked Remus. Sirius looked confused for a moment, then nodded.  
  
"That was a good thing," he answered. "That's what James does when he's getting over something. It means that he's back to normal."  
  
Remus stared at Sirius for a second, then shook his head. "That's a weird way to get over something."  
  
Laughing, Sirius nodded, and they went to see what Holt was saying.  
  
"We'll have a Chaser and a Seeker spot open next year," Holt was telling James. "Train over the summer, and you might make it onto the team. By the way – "Holt looked down at the younger boy's hand. "What did you do?"  
  
"Punched one of those pillars outside," replied James casually.  
  
"Right," Holt said, looking slightly confused. "Well, um, you just – you just work on it and I'll talk to you later."  
  
"What was that all about?" Remus wondered as they walked away.  
  
"Oh, he saw my broomstick practice and thought I was pretty good," James told them, messing up his hair as they passed Lily's group.  
  
Yup, Remus thought, things are definitely going back to normal.  
  
A/N Good Chapter? Review!  
  
TheDudeLordOfFantasy – You think I'm that good? You're awesome! Thanks a ton! I don't know if I'll do all seven but I'll think about it.  
  
Anyhow, about Peter – he's only eleven. I thought that was a little young to be planning this sort of thing. But thanx for the review! 


	15. Finding Info

A/N "I need your arms around me I need to feel your touch / I need your understanding I need your love so much." Never There by CAKE. Good song. Good band. Ok, I'll get on to the story now.  
  
Disclaimer – No I don't own the stuff that you have seen before they belong to a certain JK Rowling and it is not probable that I will ever own that stuff.  
  
The months passed by quickly. By March, Remus was starting to hope that his friends had forgotten about the mysterious Lord Voldemort. However, his hopes were dashed on the last day of March.  
  
"I think we should give him a pink fox again, just as a reminder," Sirius was saying. He and James were discussing what to do to Snape the next day.  
  
"Well, I'd hate to be repetitive," James responded, sucking on a blue sugar quill. Remus looked up from his History of Magic essay.  
  
"Hey, you two notice that I'm almost done and you've got three sentences?" he said, half-scolding and half-teasing. "It's because I don't sit around and talk about cursing other people when I've got better things to do."  
  
"Uh-oh, is ickle Remus gwumpy?" Sirius nudged his friend lightly. "Look, there's more to life than books, mate. If you care to take a look, James and I get great grades, and we don't get half as worked up about it as you."  
  
Suddenly, James jumped up, rubbed his nose, and walked to Lily's group of friends. Sirius groaned loudly and rolled his eyes. Watching with slight interest, Remus saw James begin talking with huge hand gestures. Most of the girls looked like they didn't know whether to be annoyed or amused. While they were still deciding, James' nose began to disappear. Once, it was gone, his face began to fade, until his whole head was missing. The girls were now staring in shock, while Remus could still hear James talking as if he hadn't noticed a thing. Lily stepped up and said something, obviously scornful. Clearly trying to redeem himself, James stuck his hands in his pockets and answered back just as his nose began to reappear.  
  
"Stupid," Sirius snorted, shaking his head. James returned to sit with them before his head had become fully visible again.  
  
"What was that?" asked Remus, curious in spite of himself.  
  
"Just putty," James replied innocently. "I must be allergic or something."  
  
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Allergic?"  
  
"Alright, alright, I might've done a little magic," James admitted.  
  
"Didn't work too well, now, did it?" Sirius scoffed. Becoming very interested in a subject in his book, James didn't reply. Returning to his paper, Remus was finishing the last word of his essay when a loud thud made him jump, scrawling a line across the parchment. Fuming silently, he pulled out an ink eraser and began to rub out the line, carefully repairing the words that had been crossed. Once the line was gone, he began to rewrite the last word. Suddenly, Sirius swore loudly, and another line appeared on Remus' paper.  
  
"What?!" Remus shouted, furiously scrubbing at the ink for a second time.  
  
"It's a letter from that old hag of a mother of mine!" Sirius exclaimed. Looking up, Remus saw an eagle perched on the back of Sirius' chair, while Sirius stared at the piece of parchment in revulsion.  
  
"What do they want now?" asked James, standing to look over his friend's shoulder.  
  
"Some old lady died and they want me to go back for her funeral," Sirius complained, finally lowering his voice. "As if they even care about her. They just want her money."  
  
"Why do they want you there for?" Remus asked, forgetting about his essay.  
  
"Probably want me to suck up to whoever's handing out the goods," spat Sirius, throwing the parchment in the fire. "Get lost, you," he snapped at the owl, shoving it off of his chair. Screeching, the eagle took flight.  
  
"When do you have to go?" wondered James, returning to his chair.  
  
"Tonight," groaned Sirius, leaning back. "They don't want me to get away from them again."  
  
"Again?" Remus looked at his friend, curious about what had happened.  
  
"Yeah, once I was with James and his parents, camping." Sirius sat up again, unable to stay still. "They sent my brother, Regulus, to tell me that I was to return home immediately. My parents never liked the Potters, didn't approve of them. The only reason I even knew James was because I had run off when I was about seven and met him in town. They caught me, though, and I got a beating once I got back home. Didn't care, though. After that, I had a place I could go to whenever the house got to be too much. Anyway, I knocked out Regulus and ran off into the trees. It took them almost a week to find me."  
  
"What did they do to you when they finally found you?" Remus asked, almost afraid to know the answer. Sirius paled, his face drawn with pain at the memory. He opened his mouth to speak, then shut it and shook his head.  
  
"Look, mate, maybe we could-"James started, then was interrupted.  
  
"No," Sirius told him firmly. "I'll go. Besides, this is another chance to find something out about Voldemort and Tom. If anyone knows about Dark wizards, it'll be my family." He glared at Remus, daring him to speak up. Remus met the gaze calmly, telling himself that least dangerous way to get information. After a moment, Sirius turned back to James.  
  
"You two keep your eyes and ears open for anything that people might be saying," Sirius murmured, casting a suspicious eye around. "You never know when something is going to come up."  
  
James, Remus, and Peter were all quiet after Sirius left. Remus was trying to concentrate on his essay and failing, while James doodled absentmindedly on his hand. Peter was flitting through books nervously, trying to find information on the extra essay he had been assigned in Transfiguration. The evening seemed to drag on forever, and Remus was glad when it was finally time for bed.  
  
When the mail came the next morning, a buzz went through the Great Hall. James jabbed at his copy of the Daily Prophet excitedly.  
  
"Look at this," he whispered. "'Skull Rises Again. Late last night, at precisely 11:04, a green skull with a serpent protruding from its mouth was seen hovering over a secluded house in the mountains. This same apparition was seen at several murders over the past few months. The killing of Susan and Edwin Mag have raised even more suspicion in the Ministry of Magic. Top workers are working full-time to find this mysterious murderer. If any information is known about this subject, please contact a Ministry worker immediately.'" James looked at Remus. "What do you think?"  
  
What Remus wanted to say was, "I think you should forget about all this and just get on with your life here!" However, all he said was, "I think we got something to tell Sirius when he comes back."  
  
"Which should be sometime this evening," James replied, checking his watch anxiously. "Come on, we'd better get to class."  
  
When Sirius returned, he had a big grin on his face. "You'll never guess what I found out!"  
  
A/N ok, you'll find out what Sirius found out next time. Sorry for the long delay, I haven't been able to write for a while. Anyway, plz review!  
  
TheDudeLordOfFantasy – Yup, there's more coming. I'm probably going to do more of the Marauder's years at Hogwarts, it's been fun writing this one and it's almost over. Ok, thanx for the review! 


	16. The New Kid

A/N oky, here's the next chapter. I'll give you my opinion of the new movie after the story, in case you want to hear it ;)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the stuff u recognize it's JK Rowling's.  
  
Sirius could hardly restrain himself until they were in a place that no one else would hear them talking. As soon as they were in a quiet spot, he began talking quickly. "You were on the right track, Remus. Tom and Voldemort are the same person. Tom Riddle was a student here, Slytherin of course. A real smart guy. According to my parents, Dumbledore absolutely loathed Tom and followed him around all the time, hoping to catch him at something, but I doubt that. Knowing the old fools, Dumbledore probably suspected that Tom was up to something fishy and they didn't like that. And we've got a new student coming here."  
  
"Huh? What's that got to do with anything?" James asked.  
  
"Nothing," Sirius replied cheerfully.  
  
"Then why do we care?"  
  
"Because I hear he's got special powers," Sirius told them quietly. "They say that you don't want to be around him. He plays mind games, can make you do pretty much what he wants."  
  
Peter whimpered, and James gave an involuntary shudder. He made a mental note to avoid the new student. After his last brush with mind control, he was nervous about anything like that.  
  
"So did you lot get any information, or am I the only provider?" Sirius wondered. James pulled out the newspaper clipping and showed it to his friend.  
  
"It's nothing compared to what you found out, but it's all we found," he explained. Sirius nodded as he read the article.  
  
"Well, it's something," he said, stuffing the paper into his pocket. "Now, how about some food?"  
  
It was almost a week before the new boy that Sirius had mentioned arrived. This guy gives me the creeps, Remus thought when Dumbledore introduced him. The boy had black hair and eyes, and wore all black clothes.  
  
"Loser," Sirius muttered under his breath.  
  
"Come on, we have to go to class," James said, standing up. They walked to Potions quickly.  
  
"We will be taking notes today," Professor Malevolent announced as he swept into the dungeons. The classroom was quiet, except for the rustling of parchment. Sirius yawned as he leaned back in his seat, and Malevolent gave him an icy glare.  
  
For Remus, the class seemed to drag on forever. He was grateful when the bell finally rang and he could leave the dungeons, which were filled with a foul odor from the potion that Malevolent had used during a demonstration. Halfway to the door, he heard Sirius speak, and turned to see what was happening.  
  
"Get out of my way, you filthy rat!" Sirius spat at the new boy.  
  
"Why are you in such a hurry, cousin?" the boy asked quietly, smirking. Sirius tried to push past the boy, but his way was blocked again.  
  
"Move it, Jeb!" Sirius snarled, but the boy just laughed. Angrily, Sirius punched Jeb in the stomach. The boy hardly seemed to notice it, but Malevolent saw him.  
  
"Black! Ten points from Gryffindor, and detention tomorrow night!"  
  
Laughing quietly to himself, Jeb stepped aside to let Sirius through. Glaring at the new boy, Sirius didn't move. Remus looked at his friend, waiting for Sirius to start walking. After a minute, Sirius blinked and hurried out of the classroom. Remembering what he had heard about the mind games, Remus jogged after him.  
  
"Sirius, are you alright?" James asked, following Remus.  
  
"Yeah," Sirius replied, shaking his head. "It was weird. It felt like he was trying to get me to do something, but I don't think it worked."  
  
Remus shook his head, not exactly understanding what Sirius was saying, but deciding that his friend was okay.  
  
That evening, as they were doing their homework, there was a tension among them. They hadn't seen Peter since Sirius had started teasing him in History of Magic. Remus felt uncomfortably aware that Sirius didn't feel the least bit of guilt about it.  
  
"Hey Remus, page 563 in your Magical Creatures book," Sirius whispered. Curious, Remus flipped to the back of his book.  
  
"What about-"Remus stopped when he saw the bottom of the page. Werewolves: a species often thought of with fear. A bloodthirsty beast, the werewolf is among the most dangerous creatures known to our kind. It is widely known that even in it's human form, a werewolf can be a danger to all who dare to come near.  
  
He didn't want to read any more. Two thoughts ran through his mind. The first was, How can they publish a pack of lies as a schoolbook? The second hit him with more force. Why did Sirius show me this?  
  
Looking up, he saw Sirius watching him with interest. James' head was down, reading the passage with revulsion. Remus looked back at Sirius who made no effort to say anything comforting, or even anything at all. He just sat there, watching. Remus stood and rushed out, blinded by the thought of the article. Bloodthirsty beast . . danger to all . . among the most dangerous creatures . .  
  
Without even thinking about where he ran, he found himself in one of the secret rooms that Rob Weasely had shown them. Sitting on the stone bench on the far side of the room, he stared at the blank wall in front of him, trying to clear the image of the book from his mind. Was this what he was going to go through his whole life? People shoving all the bad things under his nose, reminding him of the awful beast that he was, grinning at his pain . .  
  
Suddenly, he realized he was crying. As he wiped the tears away furiously, he heard the portrait door open. He looked at the door, feeling self-conscious. It was Lily.  
  
"What happened, Remus?" she asked softly.  
  
"Nothing," he replied defensively. "I just – I just –"  
  
"Just what?"  
  
Remus sighed. "I just needed to go for a walk."  
  
Lily's eyebrows drew together. "A walk?"  
  
"Yeah, a walk."  
  
"Ok." Lily was looking at him skeptically. "That why James started shouting at Sirius when you left?" Remus didn't say anything. "They're best friends, Remus. I know something's wrong when you run out and they start to fight."  
  
Embarrassed, Remus stared at the ground. He wished he hadn't run out like a coward. Feeling his face grow hot, he wished that Lily wasn't there to see him.  
  
"Look, Remus, have they been teasing you?" Lily asked, sitting next to him. "Don't listen to them! It doesn't matter what they say!"  
  
"But – well – you just don't understand!" Remus exclaimed.  
  
"I don't?"  
  
The way she said it made Remus regret his outburst. He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I just-"  
  
"Just what?"  
  
Remus rested his head on his hands, feeling exhausted. "I don't know."  
  
"Remus, whatever they say, it can't be true," Lily told him. "You're ten times better than either one of them! I've seen you around school, and I've never once heard you put down another student or complain about anything!"  
  
Slowly, the boy began to feel a little bit better. While he was slightly concerned about James and Sirius fighting, he was glad that James had stuck up for him, and Lily had helped him to get past his thoughts about being a werewolf. Still, he was curious about one thing.  
  
"Why did you follow me here?"  
  
Lily smiled. "You needed help, so I came to give it."  
  
Smiling back, Remus felt that he had found another friend. They stood and walked toward the door. Just before he turned the handle, Remus remembered one more thing.  
  
"James didn't say anything."  
  
"What?" Lily looked at him, perplexed.  
  
"James wasn't the one saying stuff about – about me," Remus clarified, not sure why he was telling her this, but saying it anyway. She nodded, and Remus opened the door. Before they left, he peeked out to make sure no teachers would catch them in the halls after lights out. His eyes widened, and he shut the door again.  
  
"Not again, not again, not again," he muttered, turning the lock on the handle.  
  
"Remus? What's wrong now?" Lily went to unlock the door and look into the halls.  
  
"No! Stop!" Remus cried, but it was too late. As Lily opened the door a crack, it was kicked open, and four large men walked into the room.  
  
A/N There's another chapter of my story. Want to hear what I thought of the movie? No? Too bad, I'll tell you anyway. Well, I was kind of disappointed, actually. It was a good movie, it just didn't explain things very well. If anyone watching hadn't read the book, I think they would get pretty confused. I liked how Lupin described Lily, though, so I tried to put that into my story. I thought the shrunken head on the Knight Bus was pretty funny. And Fred and George were awesome, as always. Ok, that's enough of my ramblings for the moment.  
  
TheDudeLordOfFantasy – So do you like it? I tried to update fast, but things get pretty busy at the end of the school year. Anyhow, thanx for your review! 


	17. Another Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own the stuff that's familiar to you it belongs to JK Rowling.  
  
Remus couldn't believe his awful luck. He recognized each of those four men from a certain trip to Hogsmeade, and he had been sure that he would never see them again. His eyes were drawn to Lily, who was standing stock-still, her face pale. Suddenly, he darted forward.  
  
"Run!" he yelled, driving his shoulder into the stomach of a man with full beard with all the force of his adrenaline. Lily reacted immediately, sprinting for the door. Once she was out, Remus followed, running faster than he ever had before. It wasn't enough.  
  
"Remus!"  
  
He hardly even heard Lily scream. The force of the spell propelled him into the air, and he turned head over heels three times before crashing to the ground.  
  
"GO!" he shouted, fighting the ropes that were binding him tighter and tighter. Hesitating for just a moment, Lily turned and began running again, with every intention of returning as soon as she had found some help.  
  
Remus was still struggling when one of the men picked him up by the ropes, making them cut even deeper into the boy's skin. He couldn't see where they were going until he was thrown into a large, metal box that was just outside of the castle. There was a squeak of pain when he landed on top of somebody.  
  
"Peter?"  
  
"Remus? What're you doing here?" asked the lump Remus had landed on.  
  
"Same as you, I guess," Remus replied, wriggling around so he wasn't on top of his friend. "Getting kidnapped. Listen, we've got to figure out how to get out of here." Now that the men had left, he felt unexpectedly calm.  
  
"How? They tied me up! I can't even stand!" Peter seemed to be getting almost hysterical.  
  
"Shhh," Remus said, trying to calm the other boy down. "Let me see if I can get to my wand." Twisting and turning, he tried to reach his wand. Just as he was about to pass it off as hopeless, his fingers grasped the wooden handle. The ropes wouldn't let him get it out, but Remus wasn't about to give up. Pointing the tip as far away from himself as he could, he whispered the Severing Charm. The ropes fell away, and he jumped up, banging his head on the lid of the box.  
  
"Owwwww," he muttered, rubbing his head.  
  
"Get me out, Remus!" Peter exclaimed. Once more, Remus performed the Severing Charm, and Peter stood up slowly, careful not to hit his head.  
  
"Now what?" he asked, pushing on the top. It wouldn't budge.  
  
"I think that it can only be opened from the outside," Remus murmured, feeling around the edges for cracks. Peter started to whimper again. Frustrated, Remus hit the side of their prison, and there was a loud clang. To his surprise, there was another clang a few seconds later. Tentatively, he hit the side again, and someone on the outside hit back.  
  
"What is it?" Peter asked fearfully. The top of the box began to rise, and the two boys looked up hopefully. A familiar face appeared over the edge.  
  
"James Potter, at your service!"  
  
Grinning, Remus pulled himself out, then reached back to help Peter.  
  
"Come on, we've got to get going," James said anxiously, glancing over his shoulder. "We might have a few friends coming soon."  
  
"Where are we going to go to?" Remus wondered, trying to figure out how they would ever get away from their enemies.  
  
"Dumbledore, of course!" James responded cheerfully. "I think it's about time we got someone to help us out a little. Here, get under this." He tossed his Invisibility Cloak over their heads, and they set down the hall as quickly as they could without making too much noise. They reached the stone guardian of Dumbledore's office, and Remus and Peter looked expectantly at James.  
  
"Uhhhhh . . "James stared at the statue blankly. "Chocolate Frog?" Nothing happened. "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Cauldron Cake. Licorice Wand. Come on, open!"  
  
Just then, the gargoyle sprang to life, jumping aside. At first, Remus thought that James had somehow gotten the password, until he saw the man standing there.  
  
"Come in, boys, quickly," Dumbledore told them, his face grave. The three boys looked at each other uncertainly, wondering if Dumbledore really knew they were there. After a second's hesitation, James threw of the Cloak, and Remus and Peter followed suit. They were led down the long hallway, which seemed darker than before.  
  
When they reached the office after what seemed an eternity, the headmaster spoke again, but not to them. "This is an emergency," he told a something that was blocked from Remus' view. "Go to the Ministry and tell them to send their best Aurors if they would like to avoid catastrophe." Peeking around Dumbledore's shoulders, Remus was amazed to see a Phoenix on a golden perch, listening to Dumbledore's words. When he had finished speaking, it disappeared with a puff of smoke.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore, there's a bunch of men, the same guys that-"  
  
"I'm aware of what is happening, James," Dumbledore interrupted gently. "I assure you, those men will be in custody soon, and then you can explain everything."  
  
"But they've got Sirius, sir!"  
  
Remus stared at him with mixed feelings. He wouldn't have wished anybody to be captured by these men, apparently working for Voldemort, but then again, Sirius had turned on him. James must have seen the expression in his friend's eyes, because he quickly laid out his theory to Dumbledore.  
  
"I don't know if you know, sir, but the new boy can – can –"  
  
"Yes, I know of the powers Jeb has," Dumbledore said quietly.  
  
"Well, in Potions, Sirius was kind of, well, arguing with Jeb, and when he came out, he said something about thinking Jeb tried to control him, but failed," James explained as quickly as his mouth could form the words. "Then, he turned all weird, and started teasing Peter until Peter left our group. Then, he showed Remus something about – that was – well, you get it, and Remus left too. Both of them were grabbed by those guys. After me and Sirius yelled at each other for a couple minutes, I left, and nearly ran into those guys." James paused, realizing that he had started rambling. "What I'm trying to get at is that I think that the new kid is sort of involved with Voldemort, and he used Sirius to get us split up so they could kidnap us."  
  
Dumbledore surveyed him gravely. "I will be sure to check into that when this is cleared up. However, there are more pressing matters to attend to right now. There should be Aurors arriving any moment."  
  
"Sir," Remus began hesitantly, "can't you tell us what Voldemort has to do with all this?"  
  
"That will have to wait until afterwards as well." Dumbledore looked at each boy with concern. "Stay here until the men are captured, then we will discuss all that has happened."  
  
A/N Shorter than usual, even though it's taken so long to get up. I didn't really get the last part out how I wanted it to be, but I wanted to get this chapter up. It'll be another week at least before the next chapter – sorry! Summer has been crazy! Plz review!  
  
Oh, and to Jennyangel (if you're still reading this) – sorry I never got a DADA scene in. I was planning to, but it just never worked out. There'll probably be one in my second story, though!  
  
TheDudeLordOfFantasy – Ok, here's the next chapter! Hope you like it! Thanks again for always reviewing!!!! 


	18. Sirius

A/N oh my gosh everybody i am so sorry that i haven't been able to get this up before now. my computer went crazy and blocked this site, and i couldnt update or read fics or ANYTHING!!! well the chapter is up now but if i dont update for a long time again, just remember - it's not my fault! ok so finally - chapter 18.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognize it's JK Rowling's.

The second the door closed behind Dumbledore, James turned to his friends. "Come on."

"Where?" Remus asked, and James rolled his eyes.

"To rescue Sirius," the boy replied. "We can't just leave him."

"We can't?"

"Remus!" James was getting exasperated. Why didn't Remus understand? "You know that it wasn't Sirius doing that. He wouldn't do something that messed up!"

Remus sighed. He hated being angry – it always reminded him of his transformations. "I know."

"Well then, let's go!"

"But Dumbledore told us to stay here!" Peter protested. James turned to stare at him, and the other boy soon dropped his eyes. They left the office quickly, stepping into a deserted corridor. Almost immediately, they had to duck into a broom closet as a tall, intimidating wizard swept by, his cloak blowing behind him like there was a gale-force wind going against him. Remus' jaw dropped.

"I know who that is!" he whispered loudly. "He's got a reputation all over the country! That's one of the best Aurors there's ever been!"

"I know who it is!" Though he tried to act calm and collected, James was buzzing with energy. "His name's Darr Bentley. No one knows why his cloak blows behind him like that-"

"-but they say it's because he's got so much magic," Remus completed, staring after the man in awe. Peter looked at his two friends, wide-eyed.

"Where'd you learn all that?" he wondered.

"We read newspapers, Peter," James replied with a touch of exasperation. "I've heard some folks say that if anyone catches that murderer, it'll be him."

"He's going the wrong way."

James gave Remus a strange look. "Huh?"

"Those guys dropped us in a box at the other end of the castle. I'd think that they would put the box near wherever their escape was." Remus looked at James. "Do you think Bentley could be wrong?"

"Nah," James scoffed. "He's probably going that way because that's where the men are right now. Maybe they had to do something else before they left."

"Maybe." Remus still wasn't sure. "Let's go this way, just to make sure."

The three boys walked quickly down the corridor in the direction that Darr Bentley had just come from.

"This is probably a waste of time," James commented as they turned a corner. "I think Bentley knows what he's doing."

"Yeah, but those guys might've left Sirius over here and gone in the other direction," Remus stated. "I think that he would be more worried about catching the kidnappers than getting the kidnapped taken care of."

"Good –"

James' sentence was cut off as they once again jumped through the nearest door, this time into an empty classroom. McGonagall stopped to talk to Dumbledore, who had just climbed the stairs.

"Professor Dumbledore, I'm afraid that there are four boys missing from the Gryffindor House," Remus heard McGonagall say in a worried tone. "No one knows where they've gone."

"Potter, Lupin, and Pettigrew are safe in my office, and we are searching for Mr. Black right now."

Two pairs of footsteps echoed down the corridor, growing fainter and fainter, and the boys immediately started down the hallway again. Now, they walked in silence, afraid that someone might be nearby to overhear. Remus felt more alert than usual. Every small sound made him jump. Suddenly, they heard someone knocking on a door. Cautiously, James opened the door and peeked inside. Sirius was on the floor, bound and gagged.

"It's him," he told the others, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Wait!"

James stopped, but he shook his head. "Remus-"

"No, seriously, wait," Remus repeated. "You think that Sirius did that because Jub or Jab or whatever that kid's name is, hypnotized him or something, right?"

"Yes," James replied firmly.

"Well then, what if he's still hypnotized?"

At first, James was tempted to scoff at the suggestion, then he started to think about it. Was it possible that Sirius was still the enemy?

"All right, I won't untie him," James promised, "but we should at least take him with us."

"How are we supposed to get back into Dumbledore's office?" Remus asked as they led Sirius down the hallway. James started to answer, but he was interrupted.

"Boys!"

"Her, I guess," mumble James, turning to face McGonagall. She was fuming.

"What do you think you are doing, wandering about while others are trying to keep you out of danger? Don't you realize what you are doing? I would have expected more from any of you! Twenty points from Gryffindor!"

"But Professor," James protested, "we found Sirius!"

"Then you may escort him to Professor Dumbledore's office. The headmaster will be with you shortly."

Still grumbling under his breath, James led the way back down the corridor. They stood in front of the statue, waiting for Dumbledore to let them in. They only had to wait for a few minutes.

"The three men are on their way to the Ministry of Magic, where they will be held for questioning," Dumbledore told them as he walked swiftly towards them. "Newt Nougat." The gargoyle sprang to the side and the boys followed the Headmaster down the corridor.

"Now," Dumbledore said as he settled behind his desk. "I see you have found Sirius. I trust that you will now be kind enough to tell me exactly why this castle is being invaded by Death Eaters searching for you boys."

Taking a deep breath, James glanced at his two friends, and began to tell the headmaster everything, starting with their trip to Hogsmeade. "We weren't going to stay for very long, just long enough to get something for Ashley, but then we saw a little girl in one of the alleys. We were going to find her parents, but four guys jumped out and started chasing us." He went on and on, describing everything that had happened. He told how the same four men had been there when he was controlled, and how the same four men had showed up out of nowhere earlier in the day.

"You say there were four men chasing you?" Dumbledore questioned, his eyes unreadable.

"Yes, sir," James replied, wondering how much trouble he had just gotten into. Dumbledore stood and began pacing.

"But only three men were found in the castle," he murmured. "One managed to get away." Stopping abruptly, he looked at the three boys. "You may go, but be careful. Avoid Jeb at all costs, and return here if you see the fourth man again. I will have to consider the actions that should be taken concerning you boys."

"But sir, Sirius – well, we're not sure if he's-"

Dumbledore walked around his desk and looked Sirius in the eye. "He is back to normal," he assured them, using his wand to untie the boy. Sirius stood slowly, but didn't speak. He looked around with an odd mixture of fear and sadness on his face.

"Sorry," he mumbled, looking at the ground. Both Remus and James could see that he wasn't in the mood to talk, and simply nodded. Peter took his cue from his two friends and didn't say anything.

As they walked back to Gryffindor tower, Sirius' heavy mood seemed to settle over them. Remus was worried. Sirius was the one who made a joke out of almost everything, and his mood now seemed out of place. When they climbed through the portrait door, they were mobbed by fellow Gryffindors asking about what had happened. Silently, the four boys climbed the staircase and went to bed. Even in the darkness, Remus couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

A/N Ok, the end wasn't as good as I wanted it to be, but at least I got to it. Three reviews this time! Yay!

TheDudeLordOfFantasy – Nope, James, Remus, and Peter didn't stay in Dumbledore's office. Do you understand who those men are? I thought I explained it in the last chapter, but I guess not. Thanx for the review!

Emily – nope, I'm not Kelley. But I'm glad you think it's good! Thanx for your review, and I hope you keep reviewing!!!

K – Glad you like it! Sirius is possessed . . well, I guess you could think of it that way. Thanx for your review! Plz review again!


	19. Returning to the Story

A/N upon publication: IM BACK IN BUSINESS, EVERYONE!

A/N Ok sry for the delay the start of school has been INSANE! This is the first chance I've had to write for a while, but I think I'll have more time these next few weeks. Anyway, here's the next chapter.

Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it again? I've said it eighteen times already, you should know this by now. Ok, ok. All the characters and stuff that you recognized are JKRs.

As the four boys walked left Gryffindor Tower the next morning, they were followed by whispers and stares. Several of the whispers reached their ears.

"-were outside last night."

"Had Aurors here in the school."

"Bentley was here!"

"Heard that those four are getting expelled for causing trouble."

Remus felt his face grow hot when he heard one particular rumor – "Bet they're helping that madman that killed Ashley's family. Potter may act nice, but he comes from a family that would do anything for a little cash, and Black and Lupin are more than willing to help him."

James flushed when he heard that, and he turned with clenched fists to defend himself against the rumormonger. Just as he turned, McGonagall appeared from around the corner. Peter was hanging his head, looking like he was about to cry, while Sirius' face had changed from last night's shame to an unreadable expression. James' teeth were grinding, but he restrained himself from beating anyone, and Remus' face was deep red. McGonagall seemed to take all of this in at one glance and didn't seem surprised. "Follow me," she told them and she walked past them briskly. The four boys followed her, not looking any of their fellow students in the eye.

McGonagall led them to her office and shut the door. She then looked at each of them with a concerned expression. "I know that this is going to be hard while the rumors are flying, but you must keep your heads up. Do everything that you can to discourage the rumors, but I'm afraid that there won't be any way to stop them until the excitement dies down a little. If anything happens that is more serious – if someone tries to hex you or anything like that, do not hesitate to alert one of the teachers. For now, just try and defend yourselves the best you can without getting offensive."

She dismissed them with a wave of her hand. Once they were outside, James snorted. "Don't get offensive, she says. What a load of crap." Remus looked at Sirius, expecting a comment from him, but his friend's face was still expressionless.

As they walked down the hall, Remus began to look around at people, catching the different looks that they attracted. Fear, sympathy, ridicule – it was all there. A tall, dark-haired boy caught his attention. Jeb was standing with a slight smile on his face, as if he thought that the whole affair was a big joke. Remus glared at him, looking angrily into the other boy's black eyes before he could stop himself. He almost looked away, but he suddenly felt as if he had nothing to fear from Jeb. A Slytherin girl was holding onto Jeb's arm, but Remus barely noticed her. To him she seemed nothing more than a dark wraith covered with makeup.

_Are you angry?_

The voice seemed to resound in Remus' head. He suddenly became aware that he had stopped, but he didn't want to begin moving again. James, Sirius, and Peter had also stopped, but they didn't seem to realize where his gaze was resting, talking without questioning him. _Yes,_ he replied to the voice, feeling even more hate for the tall boy across the hall.

_You can make the rumors stop easily._

_How?_ Remus thought, suddenly interested.

_Disconnect yourself from the rubbish you hang around with,_ the voice told him. _Leave them far behind, and nobody will ever trouble you again._

An unreasonable anger was now starting to build in Remus towards the three boys he stood with, but a part of him questioned the logic of the voice's statement.

_There are many more beautiful girls at this school,_ the voice told him, and Remus dimly wondered if it was Jeb that was speaking in his mind. _They would hang on your every word if you simple walked away right now and joined me._

Once again, Remus glanced at the girl, but he now wondered how he had ever thought her a dark wraith. She was beautiful, and the voice had no reason to lie to him. He thought of walking around the school with a girl on his arm, perhaps a friend of Jeb's. After all, it seemed clear now that Jeb was somehow speaking to Remus' mind, and how could anyone but a good friend offer a chance like this?

_I just have to walk away from them?_ he thought.

_Just walk away._

Remus glanced away from Jeb at the three boys around him. What had they ever offered him, anyway? They were loud, nosy, and would never get him anywhere. He took two steps and heard someone say his name.

"Don't you think so, Remus?" James was asking him. Remus glared at the boy.

"No!" he exclaimed, not even bothering to find out what he was being asked. James looked at him with surprise.

"Ok, ok, no need to get all mad about it."

Remus shook his head. How could he have ever thought the people like this were his friends? He turned once more to walk away when he heard another person call him.

"Remus!"

It was Lily. _Just ignore her,_ Jeb urged, but Remus spun back around anyway.

"What?" he snapped, looking at the girl angrily. Her mouth opened, then snapped closed, then she spoke.

"I just wanted to see if you were alright," she said icily. "I can see that I needn't have bothered."

Remus felt Sirius' eyes looking at him, and he turned to ask what his problem was. Before he could get the words out, however, he saw the other boy's face. Sirius was looking at him with pleading eyes, begging him not to do a stupid thing. Remus started to wonder something –

_Remus! Walk away now! Don't spoil your chances by staying!_

But –

_If you don't come now, you will regret it for the rest of your life!_

Remus felt as he was torn in two. Half of him was shouting to leave these boys and go with Jeb, while the other half wanted to stay with Sirius and James and Peter.

_Remus, don't be a fool, they will get you nowhere!_

_But they already helped me more than anyone ever has in my life,_ half of Remus' mind argued.

_They're idiots, the lot of them, and you'll be one too if you don't take this chance!_

Remus saw Sirius shake his head, and a thought started to break through, but Jeb drowned it out, continuing to try to convince Remus once more. _Everybody hates them. You must see that. Everybody will hate you too, unless you come with me. You've experienced that before, haven't you? Haven't you?_

The struggle in Remus' mind had come to the point where it was almost painful. He felt as if it would be a relief to give in to Jeb and simply walk away, but something wouldn't let him. There was a ringing in his ears, and all he wanted to do was collapse onto the stone floor, but his knees wouldn't give. It was as if he was frozen in place. Finally, he managed to open his mouth just wide enough to say something.

A/N Oh good I was afraid I wouldn't be able to drag this out long enough to make a cliffhanger. Hahaha suspense is fun. I just hope that my cpu doesn't flip out so that I can never get the next chapter up and you are all left wondering what happens to poor Remus – will he go to the dark side? Ok ok ok I'll shut up now and start working on the next chap. Happy reading!

TheDudeLordOfFantasy – Nope not dead! Not yet at least. If this wind keeps up I might die of allergies. Ok ANYHOW sorry that these chaps are takin so long to put up! Between school, homework, and my stinkin cpu, I've had hardly any time to write. So I'll do the best I can. I think I'll have a little more time to write this next week or so, though, so I'll see what I can do. Ok, thnx again for all of your reviews!


	20. Final Chapter

A/N Can I just say that I hate my internet? It's STUPID as HECK. Have I really not updated since before school started? I'm so sorry! Well at least I'll be putting more than one chapter up this time, but still – ok well, just don't blame me. I update as often as my comp will let me. Maybe it will stop blocking fanfic eventually, but until then, I can only update every couple of months. : anger. Ok well, hope ya like it!

Disclaimer – Everybody comes up with ways to make their disclaimers interesting. I don't. Sorry, folks, you're stuck with a boring old flobberworm for an author. I guess if ya gotta do it, ya gotta do it. I'll see if I can say it all in one breath. Idon'townanyHarryPottercharactersthatyouarefamiliarwiththeyallbelongtoJKR. gasps ok now I got that over with.

"No."

It seemed to Remus that he had shouted it at the top of his lungs, though he knew that he had barely whispered it. That one word had drained him of all his energy, but he instantly felt revitalized. His thoughts cleared, and he wondered how he had been so easily hoodwinked. "No," he said again, this time slightly louder, but still very quietly. Sirius smiled, and in a flash, Remus understood Sirius' shame from last night. Remus started to turn to look at Jeb, but instantly thought better of it and remained where he was.

"He did that to you, too," Remus whispered, looking at Sirius. The boy's smile faded and he nodded.

"I don't know why," Sirius replied, his voice strained. "I don't know what came over me, I didn't mean -"

"It's ok, Sirius," Remus told his friend, feeling a sudden rush of relief at being free of Jeb's spell. "I couldn't have done it if you didn't know what was happening. I almost did the same thing."

"What?" James broke in. "What are you guys talking about? Remus, what happened to you?"

Remus opened his mouth to reply, then stopped to gather his thoughts. He couldn't believe that he had almost traded his friends for popularity and girls. "It's – I – I guess I, well, I didn't mean to snap at you," he said, looking first at James, then at Lily, who was standing beside James. "I'm sorry."

James, Lily, and Peter stood silently, bewildered by the events of the past few minutes. Remus saw the look on their faces and grinned; he couldn't help himself. He laughed at the thought of what must have been going through their heads, and Sirius joined him.

"Come on, let's go get breakfast," he said, turning and walking down the corridor.

After that morning, Remus never saw Jeb again. Not that he regretted it – he felt that to have the dark boy around would have been a reminder of what could have been the stupidest thing he had ever done. It was the event that went along with the boy's departure that stuck out in Remus' mind.

During dinner, Professor Dumbledore found the boys and asked James, Sirius, and Remus to come with him. They left their food and followed him curiously, and were led into his office. Darr Bentley was standing in the center of the room, his cape blowing as furiously as ever.

"Hello," Bentley said in a gruff, but friendly voice. His face, although it was shadowy, didn't look menacing at the moment. "I've heard of your adventures this year from Albus. You boys have some courage, and you're sure not short on brains either!"

"Uh, thank you, sir," James said, looking up at Bentley in awe.

"I wanted to thank you for helping somewhat in the capture of Voldemort's cohorts," Bentley told them. "And for exposing the shapeshifter – after clashing with him twice!"

"You mean Jeb?" Sirius asked. "He's a shapeshifter? I thought he just – I mean – wasn't he –"

"He's a shapeshifter," Bentley assured them. "He enjoys messing with people's minds. He was the same person that went after you, Potter. It's incredible that you boys ended up fighting him off twice!"

"Three times," Sirius said without thinking, then bit his lip and glanced at Remus. Bentley followed his gaze and nodded slowly.

"Once you three leave Hogwarts, I would be proud to train you as Aurors," Bentley said, his mouth curving into a smile. "Just keep that offer in mind." With that, he swept out of the office. Dumbledore looked at the awestruck boys and smiled.

"You may go back to dinner if you wish," he told them.

"Do you know what just happened?" Sirius whispered as they walked back to the Great Hall. "We just got offered by _Darr Bentley_ to apprentice after Hogwarts!"

"D'you think he meant it?" Remus asked, grinning widely.

"Doesn't seem like a guy that would joke about that," James said, staring off into space. "Think about it – working with Darr Bentley!"

For the rest of the day, they were more quiet that usual. Each was imagining the days after leaving Hogwarts, spending their days known as the best Aurors in the world, catching the darkest of the dark.

A few weeks later, the chance to dream of being Aurors was left far behind. As it neared time for the exams, the teachers loaded on the homework.

"How do they expect us to get all this done!" Sirius exclaimed over a pile of books and parchment.

"I haven't gotten more than three hours of sleep a night for over a week," James complained. Remus didn't say anything until he had scribbled the last line of his Transfigurations essay.

"You guys know we still have to practice spells, right?" he reminded them wearily.

"Whatever," James replied, snapping his book shut. "I'm gonna go outside for a while. Too stuffy in here."

Sirius and Remus agreed wholeheartedly, and the three of them left to enjoy the warm day, with Peter tagging along behind them. Once they were outside, their stress disappeared – that is, until they ran into their least favorite Slytherin.

"Why did he have to come out here?" James grumbled, eyeing Snape with irritation. "Thought we came out here to relax." If the Slytherin boy had seen them, he gave no notice. The four boys continued towards the lake, though they would have to walk by Snape.

"I thought you would have learned to choose better friends by now, Black," Snape drawled softly as they passed. "Wasn't that why your cousin Jeb came?"

Sirius ignored him, but Remus could sense the tension building.

"You come from such a good family," Snape continued, obviously enjoying the opportunity to taunt Sirius. "It's too bad that you choose to shame them. You'll probably end up marrying a Mudblood or worse – I take that back, nothing could be worse than marrying a Mudblood."

Sirius whirled around and grabbed Snape's robes, slamming the boy back against the tree he was leaning on. "You just don't learn, do you," Sirius seethed. "No matter how much you flap your tongue, you have no chance against me." He drew back a fist and let it fly, smacking Snape's head against the tree. Immediately, his limbs slowed and Sirius came to a stop, still holding Snape's robes.

"You simply won't learn, will you," Malevolent said, unconsciously echoing Sirius almost exactly. "Fighting is not within Hogwarts' rules, especially the Muggle dueling that you seem to enjoy so much. I'm sure that you will enjoy another week of detention as well. Fifteen points from Gryffindor."

Malevolent walked away, and Snape smirked at them. Sirius drew back his fist again, and Snape's smug look disappeared. The Slytherin walked away quickly, trying to act naturally while wiping blood from his nose.

"Oh well, at least I got a punch in," Sirius shrugged, completely unconcerned. He had gotten used to being in detention, having at least one night of it every other month.

Remus breathed in the warm air. There had been little excitement or danger since they had talked to Bentley almost a month ago, and he couldn't say that he missed it. Right now, he just wanted to pass his exams and get to summer vacation.

A month later, Remus closed his neatly-packed trunk and watched James and Sirius throw a few more things into their trunks and struggle to close them. He walked with them out to where the Hogwarts Express was waiting, and found a compartment to sit in.

"The year went by pretty fast," Sirius remarked.

"Yeah, except for the times when we were fighting for our lives," Remus replied with a smile.

"Those were some pretty fun times," James said, grinning. "You can't forget that it all led to being offered a job by Darr Bentley, though. I'm going to have plenty of bragging rights about that when I get home."

The train started to move, and the group of friends settled back, getting ready for the long trip. Remus sighed. He was ready for a vacation, but he was sure that he would miss Hogwarts and his friends over the summer. Watching the castle fade into the fog, he tuned back into the conversation, suddenly feeling ready for whatever life chose to throw at him.

A/N End of Year 1! I kind of decided that the story was going downhill, so I wanted to end this year and start fresh for the next one. I hate writing endings though. Oh well. I'm going to try to put the first chap of the next story up when I put this one up, so plz start reading the next one! Title – Royalty and Werewolf. Ummm yeah the story will be better than the title. Hopefully.

Thanks to the faithful fans that stayed with me through bad ideas and bad computers!


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